An Intruder's Mask
by Insanity Ignited
Summary: When an orphaned Hide is snatched away from his best friend and is taken to Wammy's House, he meets and befriends the infamous Near. Starting anew with another tragedy, Ken Kaneki involves himself with Kira... Or was it Light? In the end, all of them wear nothing but masks- and the winner shall be the one who manages to break the others before he gets destroyed himself.
1. Chapter 1

**There are so many possibilities which can happen when the worlds of Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul mix- that's why I wonder why this archive has such a noticeable lack of crossovers. Oh well, if no one else is doing it, you might as well attempt it yourself, right? I'm a more or less average author, so try not to expect too much from me... I have this nasty habit or letting people down. Oh well, here we go.**

 **Discliamer: I do not own Death Note. If I did, Light wouldn't have lost like that. Or Near wouldn't have won like that. I also do not own Tokyo Ghoul. If I did, the anime would have followed the manga.**

* * *

 _ **November 14, 2007**_

Hide groaned in annoyance as his dream was interrupted by the rather infuriating sound of his alarm- which was strange, as he remembered he had set it to one of his favorite available alarm tones in hopes that listening to something good in the morning won't make him wake up all grumpy. Unfortunately, he hadn't considered the possibility of starting to gradually develop a hatred for the tone. Which was quite strange, considering he was in an orphanage for gifted children being raised to become the next L... It was kind of necessary to notice things like these. Especially for him- he had one of the top scores in observation and deduction.

Although he stood fourth in the orphanage/genius farm, thus eliminating him from the chances of taking up the title of L after they died, he was still pretty high in the rankings considering the pressure of the academics. He was far from the level of the top three students when it came to theoretical studying, but he still had an above average aptitude considering his exceptional observational skills. In the first few months of his arrival after his parents died, he always wondered why his best friend back home in Japan, Ken Kaneki, didn't get picked out to go with him and stay in Wammy's House. Of course, he hadn't needed to think long on the topic (the question itself arrived from his stubbornness), as while Kaneki might have been excellent in academics, he had been pretty oblivious. And way too kind for his own good. Also very passive and easy to read. Predictable. Not to mention he had still been rightfully taken in by his aunt.

Hide, on the other hand, had no family apart from his parents. Although that seemed kind of depressing seeing as though he had nowhere left to go, he knew he couldn't compare his situation with Kaneki's- living with his cruel aunt and being neglected from the only family he had left. That, and he had decided to survive by the same rule his mother lived by- 'It's better to be hurt than to hurt others'. Hide thinks his best friend might have forgotten the fact that it was the same rule she had died by. Or maybe he just overlooked it in grief. Meanwhile, they still had each other, and Hide was more than happy with that. Sure, he was still depressed (obviously), but he had practiced having an unbreakable facade which brought good to not only him, but to the others around him too. He wanted to be remembered as the person who always brought a smile to everyone's face, not a dull and depressing little emo kid. And in truth, he was fine living like that.

Perhaps he had been living like that for so long that he had forgotten that it was just a facade. Maybe... But it hardly mattered now.

What did matter right now, though, was the terribly loud sound reverberating in his ears. Hide reached out with one arm, still refusing to open his eyes, and blindly searched for the snooze button on his digital clock. It hadn't been the brightest idea, but he only realized that when he knocked the clock over, sending it crashing to the floor. He groaned again- he now needed a new clock. Lifting his eyelids open, he silently thanked himself for not leaving the curtains withdrawn before he went to sleep- he would have surely been blinded by the sunlight. His room was in the east wing, and, while the children in the west wing had the pleasure of enjoying sunsets, being woken up by light beams falling directly on your eyelids wasn't as pleasant as it sounded. It wasn't pleasant being woken up by annoying sounds, either, but at least he wouldn't have to wake up as early as six a.m.

Slipping out of bed and brushing away the sleep from his eyes, he slid into a pair of slip-ons lying conveniently beside his bed. He sometimes wished he could foretell about important things like morning alarms rather than trivial things such as curtains and footwear. Well, that was Hide for you, who refused to let society control his actions (and sometimes volume), which included not taking the big hints simply because he was stubborn. In all lack of pride, he only pretended he was stubborn. He had realized a long time ago that an attitude like this was endearing- and while he wasn't exactly a lying, cheating, psychopath who manipulated the people around him, he did like to make friends and be social. Which was one of the reasons he was stuck in the fourth rank. Somehow, friends and being social wasn't exactly an L-like quality and thus, even with his high scores, he was turned down from the position of L.

He had heard that the infamous detective had taken an interest in him, since he was one of the only ones apart from the top two students who hadn't asked him questions when the children got to hold a 'conversation' with L (or rather, his manipulated voice coming from a laptop). And somehow, he knew L had almost torn through his facade even though he was watching them via camera. It wasn't entirely true to say he hadn't participated in the conversation at all, though. He didn't exactly ask a question, but he did make a few jokes here and there and simply acted like he always did. And since he was informed that L had taken a slight interest in him even though he was hardly as distant as Near and Mello (the highest ranked orphans), he somehow concluded that L had seen through him. That didn't worry Hide too much, though. There wasn't a lot he masked over. It was just the negativity in him which he hid. He wasn't scared of it and tried to hide it for his life (unlike Kaneki had), simply because he hadn't needed to. It never really struck him all that much. He wasn't reluctant to give out his worries. He just hadn't needed to. It was unnecessary, so why should he even do it?

He changed into an orange t-shirt and a pair of dark green cargo pants. He put on a colorful jacket and grabbed his Walkman and earphones. He had lot of friends, but he never kept a best friend. It wasn't like he couldn't gain a close friendship because he had to leave Kaneki and was afraid or something (Hide was as far from an emotional person as you could get), he just preferred being friends with everyone rather than just keeping one really close friend. He was intelligent enough to know that everyone here was going to part ways one day, so close friendships would soon be broken. Besides, no one here really captivated him like Kaneki had.

It slightly upset him at how he now referred to his friendship with Kaneki in past tense.

The blonde trudged down the stairs of the orphanage. It was Thursday, but classes were only held ever so often. It was still time for breakfast, and he noted that he had apparently managed to sleep through the bell. The hallways were chilling and cold, yet somehow they felt safe- a little cramped, too, even though they were roughly two or three meters wide and currently he was the only one walking through them. Slowly, the sound of chattering became audible as he got closer to the cafeteria. Upon opening the doors, the muffled sounds became much more clearer and louder. The cafeteria was of average size, with around twelve tables arranged in rows of three and columns of four. Children, all from ages ranging from eight to sixteen, sat and were eating their meals. He noticed that today's breakfast was pancakes. Usually, there'd be two options- either choose the particular food cooked for that day, or stick with eating cereal. Personally, Hide could care less for what was available as long as he got his cappuccino which he couldn't get through the day without. Though he was fourteen, it hadn't taken much to get addicted to coffee, seeing as it was the only thing which could actually wake him up in the morning. Scientifically, it was a fact that apples were more helpful at waking you up than coffee or tea, but he cherished sipping the warm liquid down his throat.

Who even ate apples every morning these days? And who on Earth could get addicted to apples?

As he grabbed a plate and served himself a pile of pancakes drenched with syrup, he heard one name that always managed to catch his attention- " _-Kira_ ,".

Now, Hide had mixed opinions on the mass murderer who proclaimed to be justice by killing off criminals. He could definitely see Kira's motivation for doing what they were doing, but apparently Kira thought of themselves as God. While he wasn't exactly against the idea of killing bad people (he remembers how the world's crime rate was reduced by seventy percent), Kira was a little delusional. Which was dangerous, considering they had the power to give heart attacks or even other forms of death to people even if they weren't there themselves. They could easily kill of the people who got in their way of creating their ideal world, even if those people were completely innocent. That was where Kira went wrong. If they hadn't killed off Lind L. Tailor on a live television broadcast just because they had gotten offended, perhaps Hide would have considered fully supporting Kira. Perhaps he could have actually seen them as a God. But after that incident, it was pretty clear Kira was simply an average human who attained the power of a God. And this human was the form of justice for the entire world. The citizens depended on them to justify every act which had been done. People were technically handing off every dilemma to be taken care of by a human. It was their own sense of justice which they had been going by. If their morals had been wrong, the situation could have easily been reversed. No human could- no, scratch that, no human _should_ have the right to declaring what was right and what was wrong on their own scale.

After all, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

The world runs of the common view of justice, something which the majority wants, something which seems like the right thing to do and benefits everyone except the person who had committed the wrongdoing- they get a punishment that is justified and suitable for what they have done. No matter how hard Hide thinks on the matter, _death_ simply didn't suit his idea of justice for every crime committed. Law had a way for assigning crimes with suitable punishments- but Kira was killing off people even though there was a small possibility those criminals could change for the better. Hide knew what Kira's goal was: to create a world free of crime and bad people which was safe for the innocent. In order to achieve that, they had to first scare the bad people so that the good people will support them and cheer them on. The world lived in fear of Kira and their judgment. But apparently, as long as the ends justify the means was Kira's motto. And it was true, to say the least. To show people love and carefully guide them towards understanding was near impossible. It was easier and faster to scare people first and then achieve a peaceful world later.

That was one of the reasons why Kira was more of a dictator than a God or a form of justice in Hide's mind.

It was also why he had stepped out of trailing Kira- people thought it was because he didn't have the guts to challenge him, when in reality, he was simply a little on both Kira and L's side. He wasn't against the idea of a perfect utopia, and he wasn't fully supporting it either. He was fine if L caught Kira, and he was fine if Kira won. It wouldn't really matter to him.

He looked around for empty seats, when his eyes landed on a table that was almost completely empty, except for one person who was quietly sitting there, solving a blank puzzle instead of eating. Hide instantly recognized the child as Near. While Near was only about a year younger than him, he barely reached five feet tall and his skinniness was visible even through his baggy white pajamas which he always seemed to be wearing. Not to mention he was also first in line for becoming L's successor. The white-haired boy seemed to have an infatuation with toys, as he was rarely seen without robots, dice, dominoes or his blank puzzle with the letter 'L' on one corner. He also seemed to have a one-sided rivalry with Mello, the second-ranked student. Whereas Near could care less about staying on top of the scores, Mello was almost obsessed with beating Near, so much that it seemed that he some kind of inferiority complex.

Mello was always seen with a bar of chocolate in one hand and his best friend, Matt (who was ranked third highest) by his side. He often wore black, contrasting with the all-white clad Near, and had a blonde bob. Matt could be described as his faithful sidekick-friend who loved video games and could care less about being the next L. Kind of like Hide. It slightly bothered him that Near never opened up to anyone and hid behind a mask (just like someone else he knew). Hide was driven to think that the boy could be lonely, sitting all by himself all the time.

Which is exactly why Hide took it upon himself to make friends with him and got seated across Near at the deserted table.

After a few moments passed, with Hide pretending to focus of eating his pancakes while secretly observing Near, and the other boy just ignoring him. Ah, so he had to be the one to first speak up. Like always.

"Hello!" he piped up, in English (he had to learn it, he was in England, after all), and grinned a little. It took a moment for Near to respond. And when he did, he simply looked up and met his eyes, muttering a small, "Hello." and looking back to his puzzle. Well, at least he got somewhere, Unfortunately, the black-eyed boy did not catch the hint that Hide wanted to start a conversation, probably because of his lack in social skills. But then again, Hide was definitely not going to back down. It had started out the same with him and Kaneki, and he saw no reason why this would be more different. Apart from the fact that Near and Kaneki had completely different means of hiding emotion. Whereas Kaneki covered it up with a shy, awkward and nerdy facade, Near simply built up walls which he wasn't going to cross. "I'm Hide," he had decided to keep his nickname and simply change it into English pronunciation to make up his alias, "it's nice to meet you, Near!"

"Hello, Hide. I suppose it's nice meeting you too." Near's dialogue seemed forced. Like he had practiced it. Which brought Hide to the conclusion that Near was definitely not very social. He eyed his plate and then moved his vision back to Near. "Are you not going to eat? Or do you just not fancy pancakes?" he questioned.

"I am not hungry presently. Thank you for asking." There was absolutely no emotion whatsoever in his voice, which made it seem even more like he was reading off a script. Not to mention his childish voice was low, making it seem dangerous yet prepubescent at the same time. Somehow, Hide had expected this. He knew of Near's lack of actual friends or even any social relationships, so it was probable that the the smaller boy was simply not used to this. Well at least he hadn't plainly ignored him. Hide would have been a little upset he would have.

"You're welcome!" Hide smiled. "I happened to notice that you always sit by yourself. I'm kind of new around here, I arrived just a few weeks ago. I was wondering if you'd like to be my friend," In truth, Hide had noticed Near the first day he got here. Although, Mello and Matt had surrounded him and were speaking to him about something, so he thought he did have friends. It was only later that he had found out of Mello's hatred for Near. So he concluded that they hadn't been having a friendly conversation at that time.

"Interesting. I have never had a friend." The blonde felt a sting at his heart. The way Near had put it all so bluntly, you'd think he was talking about not having a cellphone, or something. He couldn't stop himself from pitying the the boy in front of him. "Well, we certainly have to change that, don't we?" he grinned. He was getting somewhere now. Near's onyx, dead-looking eyes met Hide's joyful, shining ones. It all contrasted brilliantly.

"Alright, Hide. I will be your friend."

Hide hadn't missed the slight shift in the other boy's leg. Emotionless mask or not, he definitely wasn't perfect at hiding things. Or perhaps Hide was just very good observation.

* * *

Hide had to resist the urge of banging his head on the nearest wall. Apparently, Near had no clue of what a friend was. Nothing much had really changed, apart from the fact that the blonde and the albino sat together in the cafeteria. Apart from that, Near had managed to end every conversation but simply a sentence, or sometimes even a single word. Hide understood that he wasn't very talkative and basically lived in a world of his own with his toys, but perhaps he could at least carry on a conversation.

 _Oh well,_ Hide thought, _maybe I should just give it some time._

It had only been a few hours after dinner, and his room's door had been knocked upon. His brown eyes turned to glance at his clock, then he remembered he had broken it, and estimated it must be some time around eleven. Considering everyone's curfew was an hour ago, his curiosity had been driven. Almost immediately, the guess of the person at the other end of the door being a member of staff was turned down. There was no way Roger or any other staff member would knock on a kid's door at this time of night. Which probably meant it was a child.

What a child had to meet him for at this time was a question Hide couldn't find a suitable answer to. It could be Near, wanting to have a sleepover.

There it was- his late night logic bringing up impossible shit into his mind.

"Come in!" he called out. Since the kid had the politeness to knock, he couldn't be that bothered by whoever it was, could he?

The door opened with a slight creak, and there stood, quite unexpectedly, the albino(?) himself. Hide had found himself wondering for quite a while if Near was albino or not. For one, the kid didn't have light eyes. In fact, they were incredibly dark for an albino. His skin tone was paler than normal, but not incredibly pale. Perhaps he was a a really, really light platinum blonde. _Ha,_ Hide mused, _a smart blonde._ His eye twitched in realization and he mentally face palmed. The two top students at Wammy's House were blondes, and so was he. As he tried to clear up the awkwardness in his mind, his expression became comical as he realized Near was still standing in the threshold which separated his room from from the hallway.

"Hey, wasn't expecting you to be here. Take a seat wherever!" he grinned. His grin faltered slightly when the younger boy closed the door behind him and sat on the floor, when there were plenty of seating options available in the room. He had noticed the fact that Near always sat in a quite uncomfortable-looking position. He never did bother to ever question it, though. A lot of people preferred sitting in weird positions. Besides, Near was far from ordinary; his sitting position was the least on the list of things that were questionable about him. A normal person would more likely notice his pure white hair, white pajamas which he never seemed to change out of, and his addiction of playing with toys. Well, Hide wasn't sure if it was an 'addiction', or whatever. A more suitable example for an 'addiction' was Mello's relationship with chocolate, or even Matt's incessant habit of playing video games. Could one even be addicted to toys? Hide smirked to himself. _Well, maybe not in Near's way, but in other ways, I suppose..._ Getting a little disturbed himself, he blocked off that line of thought.

The blonde's attention traveled to the small box the thirteen-year old in front of him had brought in. Near took off the lid to present a completely blank (and solved) puzzle, with an 'L' in one of the corners. Hide remembered that the boy was almost always seen putting the pieces of the puzzle together and then messing it all up again. Only to start all over. And that's just what he proceeded with- turning over the base of the box, he let the pieces fall. He then started putting it all together. The strange thing about it was that instead of starting with the corners, then edges and finally putting together the middle, like an ordinary person would, Near started at a corner and placed the pieces together in a line. Almost as if he'd done it so many times that he recognized each piece. Line after line, his hands didn't stop. Finally, the last piece had been placed, and Near observed the work for a few seconds before turning it over again.

Hide couldn't hold it in any longer. "Why do you do that?"

Near didn't pause rearranging the puzzle. "Are you referring to my method of solving a puzzle? Or why I keep ruining it after I finish it?"

"Both, I suppose,"

"It's simple." the smaller boy started. "Other people may start off with the corners, moving on to the sides and finally the middle. That's how other people solve problems- they start at the very edges of a problem. Why it was caused, where it was caused, who caused it- those questions make the base of a problem. Slowly, they start putting together the sides- the relations between the suspects, the methods used to cause the problem, and the possible reasons as to why they had caused it. Once the relations have been set, the pieces in the middle start connecting themselves. Those who weren't involved are thrown away. Those who don't fit are kept for a later time. And finally, a single piece is missing. Obviously, the last piece that is left out belongs to the empty space. The whole puzzle is solved, and there is no more room for questioning. The problem has gotten a solution, the pieces fall in perfectly. And no one in their right mind would want to ruin that." The last piece was fit in, but Near didn't move his gaze from the finished puzzle. Hide recovered shortly from his slight shock from hearing Near speak so much for the first time.

"So how exactly do you explain why you put together puzzles so differently?"

"I find it less tedious."

Hide blinked. First the unexpected arrival, now the horribly vague answer- Near could be unpredictable when he wanted to be. Although, Hide wasn't qualified to be in Wammy's for nothing- he could solve a puzzle on his own too. He understood that Near preferred going through which each step rather than just connecting dots. No one could simply _guess_ where each and every puzzle piece fit into- you had first look at the last piece placed and observe the shape of it, then find a piece which could perfectly fill the gaps in it. True, there weren't many people who could solve a puzzle as fast as precisely in this method, but Near wasn't first in line for being L's successor for nothing. His observation powers were above that of Hide's- the blonde could accept that. But his true talent lay in finding the exact piece of information which slid perfectly into place with the problem. It wasn't just luck. It was logic and tactfulness combined in one, which seemed to be accepted as the act of _guessing_ and _getting lucky_. But Hide knew it was far more than that.

"Do you want to be L's successor, Hide?" It had taken a little time getting used to people referring to him through the English pronunciation of his name, but he realized he would probably be musing over how weird it sounds when he hears it in the monotonous, arrhythmic tone which was Near's voice.

"Not really. Even if I did, I'd have three places to beat, and that's just a little too tedious." Hide smirked at his repetition of Near's words.

"Why do you want to be friends with me?" Hide gave the boy a warm smile. There were many possibilities to what the question had meant, but he'd give the same answer anyway.

"Because it feels like I'm starting the whole series of events all over again." he brought his knees to his chest, "Call me naive if you want, but I'd repeat these situations a thousand times even if they all end in a tragedy."

* * *

 _ **November 15th, 2007**_

Hide headed towards the common room. Although all the other children were playing outside, he knew for a fact that Near rarely left the confines of the orphanage to go out in the sun. He knew without a doubt he'd find him in there.

He looked down at the tiny chip he was clutching in his fingers and let out a sigh. It was just a simple prototype for a simple experiment, he definitely wasn't going to treat Near as a lab rat or something. The truth was, Hide, who lacked quite a bit of friends, had recently divulged himself into the art of tracking. It had started out amateurishly- following footprints, dusting fingerprints, light spying- but soon, he couldn't remember when a childish game had turned into a skillful hobby. It interested him enough to create a tracking chip of his own, and he was rather proud of it. A few brief tests later, he wanted to try it out. Of course, if you actually _told_ someone you were going to be secretly tracking them, it wouldn't be professional, nor as fun. Wammy's House was fairly large, and it didn't really have a lot of interesting or questionable places to visit, but it _was_ just an experiment.

All of a sudden, he heard footsteps nearing one of the turns of the hallway. T _wo- no, three! Three people._ He peeked around the corner to see who was approaching, and was a little surprised to see Roger, Near and Mello. He quickly estimated the place where Near's foot would land, and placed the chip there. Even if the boy didn't step on it, it wouldn't be impossible to casually arrive in front of them and give a friendly pat on Near's back. Actually, that could be a better option. Hastily picking the chip up again, he tried his best to casually lean on the wall as if he hadn't been secretly placing a chip to track someone around.

When the three people appeared in the hallway, Hide grinned and waved, walking up to them.

"'Sup, Near!" he beamed. "Roger, Mello." he gave a polite nod towards the orphanage caretaker and the second-ranked boy.

"Greetings, Hide." Near replied. Mello simply nodded back.

"Good morning, Hide. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a little if you wanted to talk to Near. We have a rather important discussion to have currently," Roger stated.

"That's fine. I can wait." Hide flashed another grin. He loosened his grip on the tracking a chip a little before patting the white-haired boy's back, secretly attaching the chip on the collar of Near's shirt, where it was unnoticeable due to his hair.

As the group of three went on their way to Roger's office, the brown-eyed teen waited till they disappeared into the office before dashing off to his room. Switching on his laptop (it was his parents', so he had been allowed to keep it), he opened a file where he had coded a program for tracking the chip. A world map appeared, and a tiny red blinking dot was visible in the UK part. He zoomed in more and more before a map of the neighborhood Wammy's House was located in had occupied the screen. He had made two files, one especially for Wammy's and one for a world-wide view. Although he had to illegally hack into a satellite, it was definitely worth it. He probably won't be getting caught any time soon, he had had covered up all his traces. He had made sure that if the satellite traced the signal, it would be coming from China instead of the UK. In truth, he had taken a little bit of Matt's help with it- all he had to do was bribe him with the DS he had found in Roger's confiscation drawer. In return, Matt would do a little programming for him and ask no questions. It wasn't like it was a difficult task for the gamer boy- after all, his specialty was technology.

Clicking on the red dot, he labelled it "Near" and saved it. Opening the Wammy's map, he linked the tracking signals and located the dot to Roger's office. After a while, the red dot exited the room and Hide left his after shutting down the laptop. His experiment had been a success, and now he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Not that he wanted to, anyway.

He found Near heading out of the office clutching the puzzle box under his arm, but Mello was nowhere to be found. Running up his friend(?), he started questioning him. "What happened? What did you all talk about? Where's Mello?" Near hesitated. Hide immediately noticed that. Near _never_ hesitated.

"Mello has left the orphanage."

"...What?"

"Hide, are you my friend?" The fourteen-year old was a little taken aback by the sudden question.

"Yes, of course I am!"

"So that means I can trust you, right?" Hide's expression grew serious.

"What's up, Near?'

"L has died. He was killed by Kira."

"... _What?_ "

Near let out a slight grumble in annoyance. Hide wasn't that surprised, since the only emotions Near ever seems to show are negative ones. He was fine with that. Near was a lot different from Kaneki, but the similarities were undeniable at the same time.

"Would you like to assist me in researching the Kira case?" Hide gaped.

"Near, we have _no information!_ Where are we going to get our leads? Head to the Japanese police or something?"

"I am going to start from scratch. Time is currently being wasted. Whether it takes weeks or years, I have to perform my duties as L's successor. So, are you going to join me? I think we'd make much more progress together. Mello was offered to work with me, but he let his emotions get the best of him. So he left. It is most probable that Matt will follow him, too. Since you are my first and only friend, I am inviting you to join me in pursuing Kira. Do you accept?"

The older boy's eyes twinkled. This might get a little difficult, but it won't be impossible. Besides, what else did he have to do here? He wasn't truly interested in catching Kira, but he hoped that this might lead to Near opening up a little. Besides, it was obvious that they may have to go to Japan one day- even if the chances were low, he really hoped on meeting Kaneki again. This was better than lying around and doing nothing. After all, how many people inside of Wammy's could he possibly track? He was bound to step out of that hobby one day or another. Pursuing a mass murderer seemed much more exciting. So, after a brief pause, Hide spoke up.

"I accept."

* * *

 _ **November 20th, 2007**_

Light Yagami took more frequent breaks every now and then. L was dead, Kira was at large, and more than a few countries had started accepting the mass murderer. As the new L, he held the responsibility for being in charge of the moves made by the Kira Investigation Team. Light was more than burdened and stressed, but Kira was joyous and determined.

The weather was rather nice, with the late afternoon sun hanging quite low in the sky and a chilly yet pleasant breeze blowing through the city. Everyone had accepted his wish to go out for a walk, as they knew he was pretty stressed since 'Ryuzaki' had recently died and they knew of the friendship the two had shared. In reality, Light was relaxed as his only big threat had been wiped out and there was nothing standing in between him and the creation of a perfect world any more. It was now all simply a matter of convincing the entire world that Kira was justice and nothing could stop him. Those who didn't accept him would be regarded as close-minded or simply afraid as they were in line to be killed next, and because of the pressure and power of society, he wouldn't even have to take care of opposition. Yes, everything was going rather smoothly.

Feeling kind of tired, he decided to get some coffee. Fortunately, he saw a coffee shop just at the end of the street. As he got closer, he got a better look at the name.

' _Anteiku... As in the English word "Antique"?'_

Somehow, it managed to catch his attention just enough for him to go inside. Once he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised by the peaceful aura of the shop. It relaxed his tense muscles and got him into a calmer mood, making him feel less tired and stressed already. It was neatly decorated, with potted plants here and there, and the tables were clean and spot-free. There were only a few customers inside and a light buzz of conversation floated around. The tranquil environment Light had found himself in felt completely detached from the rush of the outside world, and he liked that.

"Welcome to Anteiku!" A server greeted him. He had black hair, which Light noticed was most definitely a wig judging by how it had an unnatural texture, and he was wearing a medical eyepatch on his left eye. His other eye was grey, and by how observant Light was, he could clearly see that they were glossed over by a fake joy. Underneath it looked just plain tragic. He briefly wondered why, but the concern he developed was quickly erased.

Light sat down at one of the empty tables and smiled the server. "A cup of black coffee, please," The server nodded and walked off to prepare his order. The brunette noticed how he only looked to be about fourteen... Surely he wasn't working instead of getting an education, right?

When the server came back with his order and set it atop the table, Light asked, "Do you go to school? You seem pretty young to be working," and he made sure to add a charming smile, just to look like he didn't mean to seem too intrusive.

"Ah, yes, I do got to school. This is actually like a family shop for me. I work here part-time." The young server replied.

" _Like_ a family shop?"

"Mm. The manager and the other staff, including me, are sort of like a family, since we don't have anyone else- I'm sorry, I'm getting too deep," he smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"No, no- it's fine. My name's Light Yagami, and you are?"

"Ken Kaneki. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ken bowed. Light grinned.

"It's nice to meet you too."

Now, Light Yagami had no time for making friends. He was now the second L, and he was Kira at the same time. Which meant he had to pretend to be hunting down Kira to fool the rest of the investigation team. To keep up that act, he needed to act like he was working endlessly- making friends could leave a very bad impact. Besides, it's not like Light even wanted to make friends. At least, not any who held no usefulness towards him. It wasn't like he was playing with people- well, maybe he was, but it was to advance towards making a the world a better place to be in. Perhaps what Ryuk had said was true, he would be the only bastard left in this world. Maybe he had developed a God complex of some kind. But if only people could see he wasn't as selfish as he seemed- killing a criminal so that it could prevent other lives being damaged was justice. Keeping criminals locked up was a waste of resources. Once a criminal, always a criminal. People who caused direct harm towards the lives of others deserved to die. Perhaps that wasn't the right thing to do, but he did it in the name of justice. Society agreed with him, it was only those stubborn authoritative figures who knelt down to their stupid morals.

Killing a human wasn't _good._ Neither was killing a bad human. But it was justified. Did he really have the right to decide who died and who lived? No. Yet, he certainly could decide who deserved to lead a peaceful life and who deserved to die for rotting this world.

Light wasn't sure what he saw in that hidden tragic eye- but it sure seemed close enough to something that wanted others to _understand_ , if not the want to murder. Somehow, he could tell that Ken had the same desires as he did, but the only thing holding him back was his hatred of becoming a murderer.

He could see it, in the way it was so painfully obvious how Ken Kaneki had lived a tragic life, yet he tried his best to mask all of that. It definitely didn't work very well, though. His smiles were sad, his eyes were sad- yet he wanted to be happy to make others happy. His politeness, his kindness, added with whatever horror he had faced had distanced him even more from taking lives. The hunger was still there, though. Just well hidden, unlike his sadness.

Light wondered if Ken had read him just as easily as he did him. Because right now, he could see suspicion in the eye-patched boy's eye.

"Y'know, Light..." Ryuk, who'd been quiet up till now, started, "I'm guessing you still remember how I told you I was on nobody's side." Light shifted a little, as if to signal that he heard the shinigami. "The shinigami rules state that I'm not allowed to tell you the lifespan or the real names of other humans, or point out the people who own a Death Note."

By now, Ken had walked away to attend another customer. A girl with short, dark, almost purple hair came up to him and started chiding at him to quit conversing with customers, before leaving with a huff. It was rather weird, because she could have been no older than twelve, which meant she was younger than him. _Strange, The people who 'work' here are rather young..._

"I have to say, though. I cannot see the names or lifespans of any of the staff members here..."

Light froze.

Ryuk started to howl with laughter.

* * *

 **I checked the timeline, so it _should_ be accurate. I'm going with the anime timeline, so I can match up with Tokyo Ghoul at the same time. **

**NOTES (IMPORTANT):**

 **1\. Ghouls are rare. They are not known about most humans. They are an endangered species, but humans don't know that. There are certain rules for ghouls, and they have to live by them or risk being caught. Although more powerful than humans, they'd rather live a peaceful life as a normal human being. Like the ghouls at Anteiku. It is very much possible for them to survive on only already-dead people, especially since they are very low in number. So no, no one will really know what ghouls are, except think they're simply a myth like vampires and stuff.**

 **2\. I'm well aware that many of you will doubt whether if Hide is acceptable enough to go to Wammy's. For that purpose, I have increased his IQ in academics. Let's say he specializes in tracking, shall we?**

 **3\. Hide's past will be explained in depth, as will Kaneki's.**

 **4\. It's true that Near seemed OOC, but honestly, he's just socially awkward, there's no saying that he completely rejects friendship. If anything, he'd rather have people support him, because he's sensitive.**

 **5\. Hide's friendship pairing is Near, because he's drawn towards people who wear masks. Take that in any way you want. Kaneki's friendship pairing is Light, because Kaneki wants to pick out all the rotten beans from the world and Light wants to rid the world of criminals.**

 **6\. Since this is an ENGLISH fanfiction, ENGLISH words, mannerisms and honorifics will be used. Which means Kaneki will be referred to as Ken by Light because he's younger than him, and Light will be Light. No Raito (honestly, if you're doing that, you might as well change Mello to Mero, Near to Nia and L to Eru), no '-kun', no '-san', and no '-chan'.**

 **7\. Kaneki's personality will be like the one he acquired while he was with his little group after being tortured by Yamori- kind and peaceful, yet can turn like a switch when needed.**

 **I suppose that's all. Updates will be slow, though. It's my first time writing a story with so many words, not to mention I have a life outside of fanfiction. Sorry, that's just the way it is.**

 **I'll try to update within 15-20 days, as I'm also trying to quit procrastinating for all my other stories. Anyway, see you all next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't get it," started Hide, "I mean, I know there's something supernatural behind Kira, as no one can kill hundreds of people all over the world at the same time with heart attacks, but why do you suppose he needs a name and a face to kill? A supernatural entity which can kill anyone at any time shouldn't be deprived of such trivial powers."

"The criminals whose faces haven't been made public weren't killed, and the criminals whose names were reported incorrectly were also spared. I do not think Kira would ever actually spare a criminal, so the only reasoning behind that was that he _couldn't_ kill them. Besides, if he didn't need a name and a face to kill, he would have killed off the first L during the fake worldwide broadcast." Another die was placed carefully on top of the last one.

"So you think he just needs to imagine the name and face of a person to kill them?"

"No. If that were the case, he would have accidentally killed off many other people. He has a method of killing, an object or simply a supernatural power."

"...That's awesome."

"I do not think of the power to kill someone as 'awesome', it shall be more like a curse if it were given to me."

The blonde sitting opposite to Near paused. Although not much could be made out, through the carefree and extroverted exterior lay a brilliant mind, and even within all his naivety, it was obvious that he also had a a fair taste of reality. Whereas he himself had to experience trauma in his past, Near doubted he would feel anything from them. He was far from emotionless, and he knew that himself. It was simply the way he was- but others made the common mistake of seeing it as a mask. That was the trick to it all- and Near, who at first felt threatened by the way Hide could look through people so easily, had relaxed once again when he discovered that Hide had also fallen for it. Good, everything stays impenetrable for one more day. Not that he minded if someone managed to see through the trick- after all, he had nothing to hide. In fact, perhaps that person may as well be more disappointed seeing that there was nothing really there to discover in the first place.

"But what would you use it for?" questioned Hide, after a while.

 _What would I use it for?_ The answer was obvious to the white-haired boy. He had no enemies as of yet, except for Kira of course, but he could tell the question was more psychological than practical. He knew he wasn't highly ambitious, or delusional enough to see a perfect world. He never really did see himself as a God, either. In fact, he actually thought of himself as quite ugly. He knew very well of his ugly soul, and never did he see himself as physically attractive. Not that he wanted to appear attractive to people, either. It simply wasn't a necessity when it came to solving cases. If it were to ever come to that, there'd be no reason for him to not send out Hide as a proxy of sorts. After all, the blonde was friendly and quite appealing. Which kind of made him wonder for a bit, _Would he ever use it?_

"I would never use it in the first place." Near answered.

"What about psychological factors? Maybe, since it's a supernatural materialistic object, something could compel a person to use it."

"'Something'? What are you suggesting here? That 'something' is haunting the object which has the power to kill people?" Although Near never really believed in ghosts, he supposed that an idea wasn't completely impossible unless proven otherwise.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that- any human could be curious to know if such an object actually works. I wouldn't be surprised if Otoharada Kurou, the kidnapper who held the children hostage in Japan, was the first victim of Kira's curiosity. No doubt he would have felt an enormous amount of stress on himself after knowing he killed someone, even if he's a sociopath or a psychopath. Which he probably wasn't at that point, since Otoharada seemed more like an experiment, if anything. A psychopath or sociopath wouldn't have hesitated. Seeing all those children safe and their families rejoicing must have produced a reaction which motivated him to kill off more criminals. But yeah, maybe 'something' is haunting the notebook and forcing Kira to use it."

The room was silent for a while. Late evening sunlight shone through the windows and made shadows on the walls. Silhouettes of blocked structures stood high, looming above the room's two occupants. Any doubts he'd had before were cleared now- Hide was definitely the right choice he'd made in order to pursue Kira. _Perhaps not the first or most desired choice, but useful, nonetheless._ Hide knew people better than he did, at least the emotional side. That could come in handy one day. But then that brought him to wonder whether if personally meeting Kira would be enough for someone to deduce or raise suspicion over whether or not they were Kira. Hide was observant and good at telling if and what people were hiding, but when it came to facts which were directly thrown on to him, he wasn't all that reliable. For example, his complete disregard for societal norms. Sure, Near himself was an outcast, but he knew when to halt and what to ask. Hide's barriers could only be built when he got emotionally attached to someone. Not to mention, his lack of a mask could prove to be dangerous- alright, Near didn't have a mask himself, but he had acted like he had one, anyway.

 _Did L have a mask?_ The answer came instantly to him: yes. The greatest detective in the world had many masks- he was sure of it. He wouldn't be surprised if he had multiple identities as well. In fact, he largely suspected that Eraldo Coil and Deneuve- the second and third greatest detectives in the world respectively- were also just fake identities created by L. L itself was merely an identity- it just came to the matter of firstly created and most notable. After all, what better way was there to eliminate competition when the competition was yourself? The outside world would be fooled, and the most notable identity would stay at the top because in the end, the others were simply pawns.

Near halted on his way to stacking another dice.

 _L is dead, but the police are covering it up themselves by creating a fake L..._ The die went off its aim and hit the last die.

 _There has been no publicized report of progress in the Kira case ever since the fake L came into action..._ The tower of dice started falling.

 _It's possible that the police themselves haven't managed to create progress, but..._ The falling tower hit the other stacks of dice, making them fall.

 _Had the first L and Kira met in person?_ A chain reaction was created, the the entire fort of dice spilled down.

 _L was defeated by Kira..._ The falling dice hit the other structures, causing them to collapse.

 _Kira was under suspicion..._ One by one, all the structures in the room collapsed, and soon piles of blocks and dice were remaining.

 _Does that mean the fake L and Kira are now... One and the same?_

"You have a lead, don't you?" Hide's voice broke the silence.

Near smiled.

* * *

After Near had explained his thoughts, Hide excused himself and left for his room. On the way, though, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting to Matt. Although he hadn't known Mello or him very well, he could only imagine what it must be for Matt, Mello's undoubted only friend, when he'd come to know that the blonde had left the orphanage. Matt usually acted indifferent to everything around him; engrossed in whatever screen he had in front of him, and he never really interacted with other people. Mello and him just hung out, in some sort of way. Maybe it was because Mello found Matt the only bearable person around. Hide wasn't surprised, though- Matt was the listener whereas Mello was the more talkative one.

Hide kind of related their friendship with his past friendship with Kaneki. The brunette had always listened when the blonde was spouting off about some upcoming event or someone's birthday party. He was reminded of how he'd felt went his parents died and he was sent away to an orphanage. He could still meet with Kaneki at that time, though. Then, a few months later, a man calling himself Roger Ruvie had arrived at the orphanage and convinced him to go to England. The only reason Hide had agreed was because he'd always loved foreign countries, and the man had said he'd get a chance to have more challenges and excitement in his life. Although, he only realized his mistake when he noted that Kaneki couldn't come. It had been too late by then, though. It had been pretty hard, especially since he and Kaneki had their first argument that day.

He wondered if his best friend ever thought about him as much as he did of him. Perhaps Matt also thought about Mello a lot, now. Was Mello too blinded by creating his own fate to miss his friend back? Was Kaneki, too?

Hide stopped in front of a door. It was fairly recognizable, due to it's location and the game sounds coming from inside. Knocking twice, he waited for an answer. Usually, he'd just barge into people's rooms, but after barging into rooms at somewhat awkward times, he'd decided to correct himself. The blonde took the grunt he heard as a 'come in' and entered Matt's room.

...Only to gape in shock at the sight in front of him.

 _His_ laptop was lying on the bed, the screen facing towards him and the tracking application running on it. Only there were now _two_ red dots blinking on the virtual map. One was Near's, and the other was labelled... 'Mello'.

"What the hell, Matt?! I come here feeling sorry for for you, and you decide to steal my laptop?" Of course, he wasn't really _that_ angry or upset. Instead, he petulantly crossed his arms and pouted in fake rage. Matt remained impassive, his eyes stuck to the screen of his age-old Gameboy.

"Why are you tracking Near?" he finally asked.

"Where did you get a tracking chip for Mello?" Hide huffed, childishly putting up a defense.

"Made one, connected it, all that jazz. Now, back to my question. Why're you tracking Near?" _Ah, of course._ Hide should have known. This was Matt. Had it been Mello, he would have said something like, 'I asked you first'. Childishness got nowhere with the blonde's video game-addicted friend. He remained calm and impassive, simply shutting off from the world around him. Probably had the attention span of a fish, considering the only things he'd hold long enough were his handheld game systems. That was probably why Mello had chosen to be his friend- the blonde didn't want reactions, he simply wanted someone to listen and give a sign of agreement every now and then. And whereas Hide knew Matt didn't always agree with Mello, he simply never cared enough to voice disagreement.

That was it. Matt never really did care about much. Even though he never studied, he was still in third place. Which got Hide wondering what it would have been like if Matt actually cared for once. Obviously, he cared for Mello, since he'd gone through the trouble of creating a tracking chip.

"It's just experimental." answered Hide.

"Testing it out on your friend, like a guinea pig, huh?"

"So are you!"

"I'm not testing it on Mello. I know it works. This is the real thing- I'm tracking Mello."

The blond dropped his mock-defensive stature. "May I ask why?"

"He's going to get himself killed. Can't have that."

Hide smiled knowingly. So Matt _did_ care about Mello. His smile dropped when he realized he had made no efforts to stay in touch with Kaneki, though. They were too young to have cellphones, and Kaneki didn't have a laptop or computer to e-mail Hide. Still, the least they could have done was write letters back and forth, but unfortunately, Wammy's didn't allow students to remain in contact with people outside of the orphanage. Although, perhaps he could make up for this guilt by keeping his friendship with Near steady.

Then again, he'd seen Near shift his leg when he accepted Hide's friendship, and while that didn't necessarily mean he was lying and using the blonde for his own purposes, it still meant that the albino(?) was most probably hiding something.

Ha. Hiding things from Hide. He'd probably never get used to his name being pronounced like that, but he had no option now, after all.

"So, where's he headed?" he questioned.

"West. Probably going to America. Maybe Japan first." The blonde's eye widened.

"And how exactly is he planning to go to another continent?"

"Beats me." Matt added, "Then again, he's one of L's successors. A fake ID and passport shouldn't be too much trouble."

Hide raised an eyebrow. He knew L hadn't been a rightful, honest figure of justice, as the man had said so himself. While he couldn't figure out whether or not L simply said it because it was the truth, he hadn't neglected the fact that it was meant to be said for the purpose of showing the children that they may have to bend the rules every now and then if they became L. They had to be ready for that. So, in the end, Hide supposed that Kira and L hadn't been all that different- _as long as the end justifies the means, it's all right._

Hide knew he was more or less the same, and he also knew Mello and Near were too. Using Near as a subject to test out his chip, Mello illegally travelling continents to catch Kira on his own, and Near- well, the kid hadn't shown anything which proved that, but Hide was sure he will, one day. Perhaps he could even be doing it right now, using Hide to capture Kira.

The concept of 'using' people had always struck up something in Hide. Would using others make them evil? Isn't using people people a psychopathic trait? Does Kira use people? Did L use people? Were they being used by Wammy's House? And, of course, all the question had the same answer- _yes._ Using people wasn't right, but everyone did it. Did that make everyone evil? Perhaps, not in the generic way, but it sure wasn't the right thing to do. Using people was a psychopathic trait, but it's certain that everyone has a deep, dark side towards them. It wasn't anything obvious. Kira used people all the time to create a better world. He aroused fear in people so that they wouldn't commit crimes, he killed bad people, he used the people around him to convince them that _he_ was justice and _he_ was God. L definitely used people. He used Watari for attending instead of going there himself, he used the police to solve crimes ever so often, he used criminals to stand off as him. Wammy's House itself was also using orphans to create and groom them into the perfect candidates to become the next L.

Whereas sometimes using others was judged as okay, when put bluntly, Hide couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Everything around him had a value, a utility. Even people. Did that mean people were of no use to themselves? Were they nothing but mere tools for others to achieve their goals?

Probably. _Yes._

"Can I take my laptop back now?"

"Suit yourself. I won't be needing it anyways, I have the application copied on to my laptop now."

Hide walked over to the laptop, which was perched almost dangerously at the edge of the bed picked it up, shutting down the application and logging off. He turned to leave the room and uttered a quick 'Later,' before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.

As a human being, he had little control of his thoughts. That's what happens with humans: they simply cannot stop themselves into stop thinking about something, and the more effort they put into _not_ thinking about it, the more they actually do. That's why Hide braced himself when his thoughts wandered off to the Kira case. _Kira is now L._ No sooner did he have that thought did he bump into Near himself, quite literally too. The albino (he had yet to confirm it) looked up at the blonde, expressionless as usual. It befuddled him how his mask was so impenetrable, there was almost no slip of any emotion at all. What could have possibly happened to the kid to make him so distant? Hide had seen his own share of trauma and bad memories, but he locked them away. No matter how much he grieved, he could never change the past, and he was all right with that. The fog of doubt could only be seen through with the light of acceptance, and though impossible to clear completely, one could walk right through it having the light as their guide.

Just like every other thing in this world, there were different type of acceptance. One was where you could accept something had happened and move on, and the other was where you could allow it to plague you and distance you. In the end, which was better: living through life with the knowledge that even though you've moved on, you can never change what happened, or simply staying in place and allowing it to pressure you until you are strong enough to never have an incident like that happen again? Hide had chose the second form, and he didn't regret his decision. Putting on a smile even though it's completely fake and you're actually crying inside seemed much worse than letting it free to make you stronger so that you can not only help yourself, but others as well.

He wondered briefly what sort of acceptance Near had gone through, if he even had. He certainly didn't fake smiles or even try to help others. Perhaps he simply hadn't accepted anything yet. _Maybe that's why he keeps ruining his puzzle right after he solves it._

"Hide."

"Hey, Near." the blonde smiled. He remembered his previous train of thought, and voiced it, "I was wondering... What exactly are the chances of this new L being Kira?"

"Seven percent."

Percentages were something Near didn't do often, but when he did, they were usually very low. The only leads they ever had never stepped out of the ten-percent line, and that slightly rattled Hide. If the chances were really that low, then why even try it out? Sure, as long as there was a chance, it was possible. But Near had to go around spouting off about the low percentage, and that definitely wasn't very good motivation. To know that the only lead you have is resting at such a low-

 _Wait._

Hide couldn't stop the grin from inching across his features as realization struck him.

"What are the _actual_ chances of Kira being the fake L?"

"...I am impressed you managed to see through it." the white-haired boy started, "They are steady at ninety-three percent. No more, no less."

That was just it. That's exactly the thing Hide had needed to confirm his suspicion. Near hated losing, not being able to solve a puzzle, or in this case- being wrong. The only reason he gave off low percentages was to assure that even if it did turn out to be incorrect, he won't have to lose any pride- as the percentage was based off instincts, if anything. The thing was, every time he gave off a percentage, the event was always true. Perhaps this time could be an exception, but Hide sure as hell wasn't going to treat it as one, jinxes be damned. Sure, it showed how arrogant Near was, but also showed how insecure he was. Without someone's support, he'd crumble. He was smart when people surrounded him and listened to him. He was smart when people understood him and didn't treat him like a child.

The blond didn't want to imagine what would happen to Near if he was alone. Maybe that was the albino's greatest fear- being all alone. Hide's eyes twinkled as he found another similarity between Kaneki and Near. Kaneki had pretended to be happy so he wouldn't lose anyone, he suffered instead of making others suffer, simply because he feared loneliness. _It's better to get hurt than to hurt others._ Somehow, Hide knew Near didn't follow this line of thinking, and he was grateful for that. Who knows how much the kid would have to suffer if he did. Who knows how much Kaneki had suffered already... The boy had always been emotionally unstable (unlike Near), and Hide could only hope that he'd have found someone to lean on after all this time. He could only hope that his best friend hadn't gone under anything too drastic to change his opinion on what his mother used to tell him. No matter how naive the thought of it was, he knew only pure torture would be able to make Kaneki throw away the only thing which linked his mother and him together. Mentally shuddering, he diverted his attention back to Near.

"Are you albino?" Despite the suddenness of the question, Near was not fazed.

"No. I simply lack color pigment in my hair and skin. Not to mention, my eyes are not lacking in pigment at all."

"Oh. I thought those were dark contacts, you know, to protect your eyes from light."

"No, this is my natural eye color."

He was getting irritated. Hide could tell, even though there were absolutely no hints that he'd dropped. His monotonous, low voice had neither lilt nor rhythm, and his body language was lacking of twitches and tensing. Yet, the blonde had learned how observe the other boy in the short time they'd been friends. Near didn't like going into detail over trivial questions, and when he did, it was a sure sign that he was annoyed and did that just so the other person would cease conversation over the particular topic. Luckily, Hide caught that hint and halted from uttering more words.

Patience was a virtue he wasn't willing to lose.

* * *

People had habits. Everyone had habits. Ken Kaneki had one habit in particular, and it was less obvious than his tendency to touch his chin when lying. Self-sacrifice was a rather pesky little habit which followed him around wherever he went, but the thing was, he never really had managed to protect anyone before... Before _it_ had happened. He knew he was selfish. Incredibly selfish. He simply masked his selfishness with the claim that he wanted to protect those around him, when in reality, he just didn't want to be all alone. He'd lie a lot, and most people wouldn't be able to see through it. Perhaps, even if they did manage to see through it, they wouldn't do anything about it. Ever since Rize, he hadn't managed to find a better liar than himself. That was really saying something, considering most ghouls lie to appear human. He lied even to other ghouls and himself to appear more human.

But this man, who'd introduced himself as Light Yagami, was no ghoul. His scent was completely human, although a chilly aura was around him. Kaneki had, for the first time in ages, found a better liar than himself. His politeness concealed something very tightly, and, though he had no idea of what it concealed, it had to something... Dark.

Which was rather ironic, considering his name was _Light._

Then again, names can be pretty deceiving. It's not like his own doesn't accurately describe him, though. Ken Kaneki... 'ken' meant hard working and studious, whereas 'kaneki' was a combination of two kanji- 'gold/money' and 'tree' respectively. It was quite obvious for how his first name represented him. His last name was a little more difficult to conceive, but eventually one would get around to the conclusion that it represented a pure, golden heart and difference through uniqueness. Light Yagami was made up of the kanji for 'Moon Night God', something he'd found out when they'd introduced themselves to each other further. He'd also found out that Light was eighteen-years old, but that was it. Touka had called on him again for talking, but he didn't pay much heed to her.

"Say, isn't she a little too young to be working?" Light started, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Oh, Touka doesn't actually _work_. Since she gets bored, she prefers to do something useful in the shop." Kaneki answered. As his shift was over, the manager had allowed him to sit down and talk with the other man. "What about you? Shouldn't you be in university?"

"Yes, I go to To-Oh, actually."

"To-Oh? Impressive. I heard it has some useful courses regarding law and philosophy," Light gave out a sound of affirmation.

"You heard right. Which college are you aiming for?"

"I'm probably going to try out for Kamii. I'd like to ascend in the field of literature."

"Literature, is that right?"

Somehow, even with the darkness peering out through him, Light had an air of vibrancy around him. Fresh and clear, like he was adorned with flowers. Almost... God-like. His well-structured face and piercing gaze, his unbreakable posture, the unimaginable amount of confidence and charm lacing his every word and movement... It was nothing less than perfection. He seemed very intelligent, and it was confirmed that he was when Kaneki was told that he went to To-Oh, one of the best universities around which had international-level courses. Not to mention, he could vaguely make out Light's athletic yet skinny build, which probably meant he was good at sports too.

Just like Kaneki's hidden hair, the man in front of him was pure, unblemished, and perfectly white.

But of course, in retrospect, Kaneki had also realized that some of the most perfect things hid dark, black stains underneath. Not that there was anything dark about Light Yagami, other than that rather odd, chilly air that followed him around. Perhaps the auburn-haired man had a mask of his own. There was no shunning out the possibility of that. After all, Kaneki had a mask, too. It was imperfect, yet perfect at the same time. Most people would most definitely see the imperfect, breakable mask at first, but they won't realize that's exactly how he covers up himself. They'd probably be satisfied seeing the imperfection, and then move on after trying to help him.

He'd realized a long time ago that the most perfect mask was an imperfect one.

Judging from the way Light's eyes flickered all over him, analyzing and processing every single detail, he was pretty sure that the man had seen his imperfect mask, and had yet to break through and find the actual things he hid. Light had probably seen his tragic, broken eyes, which must have aroused his curiosity a little bit. After all, he didn't really seem like a person who was interested in other people, so he'd have no reason to actually go so far into a conversation with Kaneki. Perhaps that was because he was somehow _above_ all other humans. The confidence was mixed with superiority, there was definitely _something..._

But maybe he should wait before digging deeper. Unlike Hide, who had been sunshine, Light was- well, _light._ Sunshine was warm, and comforting, and loving. 'Light' was bright, and it shone down on everything else.

All of a sudden, he noticed that the small television in the shop was switched to a news channel, which was delivering yet another report on Kira, the widely infamous mass murderer.

Kaneki thought of him as a mass murderer because all those criminals were dying at almost the same time, way too soon for a serial killer to move. Sure, all of them probably died at second-long intervals, but there was only so much difference between one killing and the next. Honestly, he kind of supported Kira. True, murder was a terrible act, and he could never bring himself to do it, but all those people who were causing direct harm to the lives of innocent people perhaps really deserved to die. A man like that would never change, and he'd keep causing harm to those around around him. Why would anyone waste precious resources on these... These bad beans? They had to be picked out and thrown away, because they were of no use to the blend of coffee and would only ruin the overall taste. True, although the world's crime rate had decreased noticeably, it would never really reach zero percent. There would always be crimes of passion and force... Maybe those people _didn't_ deserve to die. It was quite obvious Kira wasn't a God ever since the live death of Lind L. Tailor, but what if Kira was actually God and knew the guy was an inmate? No... That can't be right. If Kira was a God, he'd be able to wipe out all the bad people, missing out the passionate or forced crimes. He'd punish everyone who deserved it, like, like... His aunt?

Kaneki couldn't bring himself to completely block out that thought.

Maybe Kira should have killed Jason, the man who'd completely ruined his life. But then again, no ghouls seemed to be dying due to heart attacks at all.

"So, what's your opinion on Kira?" Light asked.

"I suppose I support him, although his methods are a little unorthodox. I mean, what about the people who are forced to commit crimes, or commit them out of passion?"

"Who's to say they'd never get passionate or forced again? Crime is unarguably addicting, just like lying. Once done, you have to commit a hundred more."

"But then Kira wouldn't be a God, would he?" Light's expression almost seemed to falter for a bit, but it mustn't have happened, because it disappeared so quickly. "I mean, this is my personal opinion, but I think a human God would be the best one. That's why people got riled up when it got pretty obvious that Kira was human. A distant, unreachable God seems to leave a little to be desired, a human God would be able to understand us better. But... Kira, although most definitely human, seems kind of ruthless and emotionless. Judging without every piece of information seems a little unfair. True, court trials can be twisted to turn in favor of the guilty, but surely some criminals deserve a fair trial."

It wasn't like the members of his odd little ghoul-family hadn't ever killed someone. But that was only when their hunger got a little too out of hand, and they couldn't control themselves. Kaneki restricted himself to hurting only those who hurt his family, judging only those bestowed unfair judgment upon his loved ones. Basically, he only switched when it was personal. It was needless to say that Kira was a little naive, hence the huge percentage of youth in his large number of supporters. Their ideals were more or less the same as Kira's, but whoever the guy was, Kaneki held a little respect for him to actually do something about what he desired... No matter how morbid it really was. Sure, he himself was once blinded by naivety, and he won't ever deny that, even now, he's still naive (which is ironic itself, as admitting that would be considered mature). Kira probably hadn't experienced personal trauma, unlike Kaneki, which is why he was selfish yet selfless at the same time. He probably thought he was doing it for the sake of a better world, when it could have simply been because he felt like only he deserved to be God. Likely to be an intelligent youth feeling out of place with the normalcy of society.

"I guess it all comes down to whether or not he gets caught, huh?" Light's eyes twinkled with what looked like amusement, yet his expression remained neutral.

"Hm. If he does, he's wrong. If he doesn't, he wins."

"Your wording for those sentences varied. 'Wrong' is not the antonym of 'to win', but your implications apart from those words were opposite. Why is that?"

Kaneki was not surprised that Light had noticed that. He noted himself that the other man had voiced his thoughts, which gave him more confidence on his following reply. "By getting caught, he won't necessarily lose. But it does mean that his ideals were delusional, thus making them incorrect. That would make every one of his actions wrong. If he doesn't get caught, it also doesn't mean that what he does it right and justified, because it if it was, there probably won't be any opposition." The auburn-haired man smiled. It somehow wasn't the same as his previous smiles, though... Even after trying to figure out what was different, the half-ghoul just couldn't capture it.

Light glanced at his wristwatch, which was just as attention-catching yet utterly casual like the rest of him, and then turned back towards Kaneki. "It was nice chatting with you, but unfortunately, I need to head back home. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ken," Another dashing smile. The difference was clearly visible to Kaneki now, but he still couldn't describe it.

"Kaneki is fine, most people recognize me by that. It was very nice to meet you too, Mr. Yagami," the boy smiled. Even if it couldn't compare to the older youth's brilliant one, it was only polite to smile back.

"Light is also just fine, Kaneki. I don't particularly mind by what name my friends recognize me by." Easy-going, charming, polite, handsome, intelligent... Light Yagami was a little _too_ perfect. Was it just a mask? The most perfect people seemed to be the most ugly behind, after all... Somehow, there was almost no conceivable way to imagine a man like Light to be ugly. After paying for his coffee, he got up and left, waving back at Kaneki and smiling one last time. No, there was no possible way there could be something ugly beneath his attractive exterior.

Although, death sounds like it would be quite ugly, and Kaneki couldn't help but notice the unusual aura which clung to the man smelled eerily like death itself.

* * *

 **November 21st, 2007**

Mello was infuriated.

Unlike what most people thought, he was no less achieving than Near when it came to academics. No, both of them got perfect scores and perfect grades. He was not second, just less desirable. Unlike himself, Near wouldn't allow his emotions to get in the way. He'd calmly think the situation out, waiting for the perfect opening instead of taking his chances and acting. So no, the difference between a ninety-nine and a perfect one hundred _wasn't_ lack of preparation, a silly mistake based on rushing, or that one damned question. The difference was that he was the ninety-nine, and Near was the one hundred. Those values were attached to the two of them, because of who they were. But of course, the puzzle had one hundred and ninety-nine pieces, making it impossible for either the hundred or the ninety-nine to finish it. Either way, he was still second, he was still inferior, and if he couldn't finish the puzzle on his own, there's no way he'd join up with Near to finish it. Because in the end, one hundred was still more than ninety-nine.

He huffed. _Now_ he started acting like Near.

But, for once, the reason for his anger wasn't the bane of his existence.

It was the _fucking never-ending_ _rain._

In no way was Mello less accomplished at handling his expressions and emotions. He was far better than the average person. The thing that could really get him to crack was Near. Oh, and perhaps the news that L was dead.

In all honesty, he'd never actually _liked_ the man he was raised to become one day. The memory of the 'conversation' between the orphans and L was still fresh in his mind. L was like himself in some ways- how he was willing to confuse and disturb the children to get his results, and whatnot. But he was also like Near- the monotone voice was deeper, yet still clear. How his words were purely intentional, and he was giving out his secrets without giving out anything at the same time. It was all tactful. Mello had practically felt his gaze piercing through the webcam, scanning every piece of information carefully and putting it together as a whole... Just a like a puzzle. That's also supposedly why his handwriting is bad.

Every time the memory of the gaze of the eyes Mello had felt upon himself that day, he couldn't help but imagine black, emotionless eyes which looked a lot like Near's.

The same eyes which would now never open again, and the twin set of those which Mello would now never have to meet again.

Because now, he was going to bring down Kira. He'd finally beat Near, because it was a known fact that the first to strike wins. If he couldn't beat Near at being the next L, he'd beat him to his goals. Let him have the title of L, Near will fail even if he wins. He wouldn't deserve to be L any more. Not that Mello even cared about being L now.

Maybe, just maybe, Near was a perfect one hundred when it came to being L, but Mello could be a perfect one hundred when it came to catching Kira.

So now here he was, his blonde hair soaked and clinging to his face, even though he was sheltered by a small roof. It was seven p.m., and usually he'd be having dinner in the cafeteria right now. Instead, he was sitting on a bench at the bus stop, clutching to a ticket he'd bought earlier. He would go to Japan first, using his spectacular hacking skills to buy a plane ticket and use some inheritance money his parent left behind to stay at a hotel. After bringing up his reputation and gathering basics of Kira, he'd leave for America and get into some well-known, yet well secured organization with plenty of power and resources... Perhaps the mafia. He almost laughed at the thought of himself, an ex-successor to the world's best detective, leading a mafia group. He'd most likely be looked at like another BB... Then again, he'd make sure his identity was completely covered up. Which meant new name, older age, and fake history.

He'd already decided he could go by Masaru Kita, which translated to 'victorious' and 'tree-field' respectively. It was supposed to be symbolic, by all means. He was also now eighteen years old ( _Always been a little short,_ he'd planned on saying) and heading to Japan where his grandmother, the only member left of his family, was living ( _Terribly sick_ ). If somehow all that didn't work out, his sneaking and manipulation skills were still in tact.

Honestly, he'd considered bringing Matt along with him, but in the end, he decided he would allow his friend to make his own choices. Matt was smart, he'd figure out Mello's location. Though not as smart as him or Near, he was still third without applying himself much. Though his ability to get easily distracted was a mean of depriving him of being L's successor, he'd never bothered to change the habit as he never really had cared much about being L. Matt had never really cared much about _anything,_ really. Apart from his games, of course. Hence, the easy-to-be distracted nature. Even if he had studied, he just make up for his missed gaming time by secretly playing during tests and end up getting the second-best score, like always. Even though he may be able to academically catch up with Near and Mello, his overall intelligence was being numbed, thus he won't make it to become a likely successor any time soon. If he was intelligent, he'd make use of himself and create some goals instead of sticking to passing game levels or simply wasting away his life.

Perhaps Matt did that on purpose, now that Mello thought about it. Perhaps the brunet had already realized that life didn't really have much of a practical point, and a moving screen was much more exciting than the continuous boredom that was existence. If that was the case, then Matt had shifted a little more on the intelligence scale than Mello had previously tagged him.

After realizing so much more than he previously knew, he wondered if the true reason he didn't bring Matt along was because he didn't want him to get in trouble... Or die...

And just as he came across this epiphany, he felt a presence sit down on the same bench he was sitting on. Turning his irises to glance at the person, Mello saw that it was boy roughly around eleven or twelve years old. He had rather odd black hair which almost looked as if it were a really dark shade of blue, and his eyes were hidden by his bangs. His hair was almost as long as Mello's, but it was more messy. He carried nothing on him, and was wearing black jeans with a grey, full-sleeved shirt, combined with black shoes. Looking at how young he was, carrying no luggage, and that fact that he was waiting for a bus which was heading to the airport, Mello could only come up with the conclusion that the guy was a runaway.

 _How stupid..._

Although, he didn't judge him further as technically, Mello himself was a runaway.

"Do you have a problem?" The blond hid his shock and turned his face completely towards the younger boy. "I know you were looking at me." _Observant? Instinctual?_

"Not really. You a runaway?" The boy turned to face him. Mello noted that he was probably of Japanese origin, but the fact that his eye color matched his hair color was a little sketchy.

The boy let out what sounded like a grunt, but it was muffled by the sound of the heavy downpour. "Technically, yes. Practically, no. Why do you care?"

"How are you _practically_ not a runaway?"

"Excuse me if my English is faulty, it's pretty obvious I'm not of English origin."

"I can see that. It's was still probable that your parents are Japanese and you grew up here,"

"My parents are dead, I didn't grow up here."

"So are mine, I've been here for five years."

"Ayan Kougar,"

"Masaru Kita,"

'Masaru' knew he'd captured 'Ayan's' attention when his lips quirked up into a smirk. "Tell you what, since we're both orphans, my name's Ayato Kirishima."

"Is that some kind of orphan-pact?" Mello smirked back. "In case it is, you can refer to me as Mello."

Ayato scowled. "Still sticking with the aliases, huh? Fine."

Mello did not know how he came to start small talk with a stranger he met at a bus stop. Perhaps if one day they become good acquaintances, it'll be a funny first-meeting story he can share with his future mafia buds. "So, what brought you here?"

"Wrong plane. Decided to explore a little before catching the right one again."

"Where exactly did you get the money for that?"

"My methods are unorthodox."

"Funny you tell me that when Kira's running around. I could report your name on the internet, you know."

"Kira doesn't kill kids."

"If Kira doesn't kill kids, can he still kill a Kirishima kid?"

"...You're a nerd, aren't you?"

And so, Mello's anger with the rain had washed away with his boredom. He never really thought that someone with a lower intellect could entertain him for so long, but it was managed. By the time the bus came and they continued their conversation on it, all his previous thoughts had suddenly vanished, but neither did Mello notice, nor did he care. Because now, he was going to start anew, and hopefully not isolate himself like he used to. Ayato was a start. Though he could never see the odd-haired kid ever replacing Matt, it wouldn't hurt to gain a few acquaintances, would it?

Besides, Mello could see that there was something beneath the arrogant, rough mask the boy displayed, and maybe uncovering it could be tackled as a side-case.

* * *

 **Fanfiction writing is not job, it's a hobby. Thus, I am not late, I simply contradicted what I previously said.**

 **If anyone is confused about the whole 'mask' thing, I'll have you know it serves a very valuable point in the future. What's going on is that they're misunderstanding each other and creating an illusion of friendship. The exciting part comes when the person below the 'mask' is revealed, and the so-called friendships are put to the test. Of course, the outcomes will affect the plots of both the series. I, as a fanfiction author, will alter the fates of more than one character, meaning some will avoid their canon death and vice versa. I have the ending planned out, and honestly, I really can't wait.**

 **In case you were wondering why Hide is a natural blond, I noticed that in the anime flashback, he still had blond hair. I doubt a kid would be allowed to dye his hair.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the reviews (I didn't expect that much of a response, but I'm grateful for it). Hopefully you'll see an alert for this story in a few weeks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not know why I insert crack here and there, especially after particularly angst-y bits. My apologies.**

 **Also, I recommend you to read the Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re manga, because I will be involving a lot of** **elements** **from those which may be huge spoilers. The Death Note manga and Relight movie scenes will also be included, but since they are not spoiler-worthy, I will not strongly suggest you to read/watch them.**

* * *

 _"Near, you don't have to do this. Kira managed to kill L, who knows if you'll live?!"_

 _"I have to. I have been trained to be L all my life- I would be a coward to back out for fearing my death."_

 _"I don't want to lose another brilliant person to Kira, Near. Mr. Wammy and L have been taken. What would I do if you, Mello, Matt or Hide die too? Send another one out to catch Kira? I'd be killing children,"_

 _"Compare a few children to all those criminals dying at the hands of Kira and the twelve FBI agents. If we let Kira go on like this, innocent people will start dying too. I cannot think that my life is above all others simply because I have an above-average brain. That kind of thinking shall only lead me to become like Kira himself."_

* * *

The moonlight fell through a crack in the curtains right on the boy's face. It was quite irritating, he'd have to get up and fix it.

Choosing instead to cover his face with a blanket he'd kept handy by his side, Near continued to recall the conversation he had with Roger the previous day.

 _I know Kira can be the end of me. But first, I'd at least like to play a game with him._

He had to start from scratch all over again. Whereas the original L rose to fame quickly because of Watari's connections, Near had no such privileges. L's successor hadn't been officially announced, so he couldn't claim so in order to hire agents and get access to police information. He'd have to prove himself first, by collecting information on the Kira case which had been wiped out. He'd considered asking Matt to help him hack the Japanese police, but decided to not get the other boy involved. If he wanted access to resources, he'd have to depend on himself and Hide.

The reason he'd stayed up so late was because he had been researching about Kira's steps before and after L's live broadcast. _Or should I say, Lind L. Tailor's public execution set up by L and carried out by Kira._

Truth be told, Near hadn't approved of L sacrificing a life for the sake of catching Kira. That was basically the same action as the murderer himself. In the boy's opinion, L and Kira were only separated by the law. They had the same mindset, yet they were on the opposite sides of the law. The reason for their 'job' or 'hobby' was that they were bored and wanted amusement- that's it. Though, one deluded himself to think he was a god, and the other decided to believe he was justice. Yes, that was L's undoing- he had thought he was personification of justice.

Near would make sure that would be the downfall of Kira, too.

He knew very well he wasn't justice. He also knew neither L nor Kira were justice. Near cared about the game, the puzzle he could solve by researching crimes- though he could still say he cared more about serving justice than the late L and Kira combined.

Anyway, so far he'd found out that Kira was, or had been, a student, and then suddenly changed his killing patterns a few days after L started investigating with the police. If L had deduced that Kira was a student too, and Kira had somehow found out, it would be a suitable reason for the sudden change. It would also mean that Kira had been challenging L directly.

Which meant that he hadn't truly cared about justice, he had simply wanted a challenge.

After that, it was probable that L deduced Kira had access to police information, hence the reason why FBI agents were sent to Japan. Near also found out that they had been investigating the families of police officers. As expected, all the agents had been killed a few weeks in.

 _I suppose we could say after that, L had to reveal himself to the police in order to gain trust in return for investigating them without their knowledge. But of course, he'd only allow to show himself to a select few. Therefore, perhaps it was better that way- since the trustworthy, motivated officers were left on the Kira task force._

Near let out a sigh. The only thing he had to go on were theories and hypotheses- he had no concrete evidence of what actually took place during the investigation. This would have worked out much better if he were discussing with Hide instead. Why did he spend half the night working on his own? He should have waited until morning when Hide awoke. _Perhaps I should go back to my room now..._

So the white-haired boy left the room, leaving a tower of lego blocks toppling down behind him.

* * *

 _A flash of lightning. A clap of thunder. The rain drops smashing against the window._

 _What a perfect night for something to go terribly wrong._

 _Hide was sitting in his room when the electricity went a out a few minutes after the storm. His mother had checked up on him to see if he was okay, but he didn't understand how a simple storm raging outside could hurt him. He passed it off as paranoia. Unlike other children, he wasn't scared of storms. He found nothing to be frightened of. It was actually quite depressing for him. Kaneki was the only other person he knew who wasn't scared of storms, but the only reason the brunet wasn't scared of them was because he was intelligent. He knew storms were the result of clouds getting too fat... Or perhaps that was how Hide remembered it. Because most of the stuff which came out of his best friend's mouth sounded like complicated gibberish to him, he translated it and simplified it in his head so it would be easier to remember._

 _He heard the front door opening, and he knew his father was home. He heard his mother rushing towards her husband and wiping him off with a towel, greeting him lovingly. In return, he gave her a hug and smiled at her. Hide couldn't actually hear all of those things, but it was a natural instinct for him to imagine it. After all, they did this daily. His family was loving, kind and caring. Sure, his mother scolded him sometimes and his father came home drunk on a few weekends, but he knew they loved him and he loved them just as much. Their financial condition may not be that great, but it was a loving family nevertheless. He had once invited Kaneki to be a member of his family, but the boy had said it wasn't legal, and his rightful guardian was his aunt. Hide had replied that child neglect was also not legal, but Kaneki didn't say anything after it, so he'd stopped talking._

 _"Hide, are you alright?" His door cracked open and he saw his mom's face lit up by the candle she was holding._

 _He smiled reassuringly, "I'm fine, mom. Is dinner ready?"_

 _"Yes, it is. Come with me, you'll probably stumble around in the darkness," his mom held out her hand and Hide took it. The two of them walked to the kitchen, where Hide's father was seated at the dining table. His mother set the candle on the table while Hide sat on the chair opposite to his father._

 _"Good evening, dad." His father returned the greeting._

 _For a while, the only sounds audible were those of clinking utensils and the rain outside. Hide wasn't a silent person by any means, but he enjoyed the time he spent with his family enough to not break the almost-silence. In truth, there really wasn't much to talk about. Besides- the food was delicious, as always, and the blond was busy enjoying it._

 _Honestly, the sound of silence was more bearable than the sound of his mother's scream when the candle got knocked over and the table was set on fire._

 _It all happened too quickly for comprehension. The glass of alcohol his father was drinking tipped over and managed to spill into the fire. Unfortunately, his father did not notice this and pointed the tap of the sink towards the fire. Hide screamed as the fire's flames spread faster than before and grew larger as the water was thrown upon it._

 _"Don't!" He heard his mom shout, pointing towards the now empty glass of alcohol on the floor. She then rushed towards the phone and began calling the fire station. "Hide, get out of the house!"_

 _As he ran towards the door, he realized that he probably shouldn't leave his parents battling the fire alone. Although, when he looked back, it was too late- he watched as the wooden beam on the ceiling of the hallway fell down and blocked the door to the kitchen. He heard his mother scream and his father curse, before he started coughing and felt his eyes beginning to sting from the smoke. Quickly, he opened the front door and ran out into the rain, gasping for fresh air._

 _He heard the sirens in the distance, and he heard his parents shouts and screams from inside the house. He felt the raindrops hitting his face even though the rain was supposed to be hitting his back, and he realized that was because he was on the ground._

 _Suddenly, the sky was disappearing and he was facing his house- somehow. The sirens were still far away, and they didn't sound like they were coming closer. The front door of his house opened, and out walked his parents, somehow alive._

 _And Hide would have been delighted, except that they were on fire and glaring maliciously at him._

 _ **"You let us die, Hide."**_

 _He screamed._

* * *

It wasn't often he got that nightmare, but it still scared the shit out of him when he did.

The very image of his burning parents seemed almost too real to be his imagination, yet he knew it was. Simply because his parents had died in the house, and their ashes had been found afterwards. By the time the firemen had arrived, Hide had been a sobbing mess on the muddy front yard. He hadn't cried for long, though- he knew he had to accept that he was an orphan then. Although, when that nice lady from the police station had told him it was okay to keep on crying, he had begun tearing up again.

From then, he had been transferred to an orphanage, and after a few months the orphanage was visited by a mysterious man going by the name 'R'. Of course, he had found out his real name later. When Hide had discussed about him leaving for England, Kaneki had gotten upset. When he later told him that he'd already accepted, they'd had an argument. They had made up in the end, but Hide still had to go.

"Hide has nightmares."

" _Holy shi-_ " Unfortunately, Hide didn't get a chance to continue his sentence for he had slipped off of his bed.

 _Floor, meet ass. Ass, this is floor._

As the blond mentally chuckled, he noted that his midnight visitor was a ghost. Well, Near certainly looked like a ghost with his pale skin and hair contrasting against the darkness of the room. Not to mention the two pits of black which happened to be his eyes, staring unblinkingly down at him.

"What are you doing in my room?" Hide nearly turned his head to look at his clock, but then he remembered it had broken and refrained from doing so. Which reminded him- he needed a new clock.

"I was actually heading towards my own room when I heard your scream."

"Near,"

"Yes?"

"It's the middle of the night."

"Yes,"

"You were going to sleep just now?"

"Yes."

 _I need to help this kid._

"So... Did were you researching Kira without me again?"

"Don't think bad of it, I simply did not want to wake you up. People work best full-rested."

"This is coming from you, you realize that?"

"Do as I say and not as I do,"

"Touche."

He started to accompany Near while he was heading to his room. There was a long time of silence between the two, yet it didn't feel very awkward. _Maybe I should ask him about whether he truly wanted to make friends with me or not, I sort of feel like I'm imposing everything on him._

"Um, say, did you really mean it? Like, that we're friends and all?"

"If you're referring to the leg movement I made when I confirmed it, it wasn't a show of lying- it was not anything but a test." Hide's eyes widened. Did Near actually catch what he had been thinking back then? This kid was even better than he'd thought! "Hide, you need to learn that observation isn't everything to figure out when someone's lying. Everyone has different tells when they're being dishonest, it isn't a very reliable move to back upon."

The blonde perked up. "What is a reliable move, according to you, then?"

"Question them. Force them to tangle themselves up in their web of lies that they start contradicting themselves. When you feel as if the blow will knock over their lying asses completely, do so. This method has proved to be quite effective."

"...You know, people always thought _Mello_ was the potty-mouth, not you,"

Near had no reaction to Hide's statement.

* * *

Matt used to think that his best friend was a small nuisance. But then, as he watched the little red dot steadily moving towards Japan, he started considering that Mello could be a rather large nuisance.

Because Japan.

Fucking _Japan._

Sure, Matt had predicted that right, but still. It wasn't like the brunet could just up and leave like his best friend, and it wasn't like he wanted to either. Catching Kira, avenging L, _becoming_ L... He wasn't interested in all that. All he wanted to do then was to make sure that the red dot never disappeared. Matt had installed the chip inside of the cross of Mello's rosary, which he never took off unless he was asleep. The chip wouldn't stop sending signals even if underground or underwater, so the only reason conceivable for the dot to disappear would be the destruction of the rosary. And that would be Matt's cue to leave for the last place the dot had been blinking. Also, he'd added a feature where in the situation of the dot vanishing, a signal would be sent to a specialized wristwatch he'd made- which would then start beeping.

The teen genius had hacked his way into getting his parents' insurance money early, so he could take a flight to wherever in the world Mello was.

The only thing to worry about was if he'd be too late.

What if Mello had died by the time Matt got there? Hell, what if Mello had been buried and grave-robbed by the time he got there? Although Matt seriously doubted that would happen, there was always a possibility...

He then directed his attention towards his Gameboy. At least the game world made a little sense. Perhaps he should just concentrate on graduating, getting out of this place, getting his own place and never leaving it again... Except for the basic necessities, for example- food. And sunlight. The latter wasn't quite that necessary in Matt's opinion, though.

He'd first met Mello about seven years ago- Matt was seven, Mello was eight. The first impression he got from the blond was _'she's cute'_. The second was _'she sounds like a guy'_. And then he'd figured out that _she_ was actually a guy. Can't really blame him, Mello had girl hair. He'd even thought Near was a chick because his voice was so high-pitched, but then he noticed that people referred to the albino using male pronouns. Honestly, Matt could care less for gender. Of course, he was careful never to address Mello mistakenly as a girl- not because he was afraid of the blond, but because he simply didn't like getting on people's bad side and creating drama in general.

Even though they'd started hanging out, they'd never really introduced themselves or even talked. The only reason they knew each others' names was because of the general introductions held in class. One fine day, Matt had just happened to be gaming in the common room (out of his room) and Mello had just happened to sit down and start reading a book next to him. The blue-eyed boy usually played soccer with the other kids, but it wasn't uncommon for him to get bored of throwing the ball into someone's head or in their gut. Ever since then, they started hanging out quite a lot. And eventually began verbal communication, which happened to start with the line: "Turn the damn volume of your game down, I'm trying to study." Which, of course, Mello had the pleasure of speaking.

It carried out from there- Matt noticed Mello's name in second place in the rankings, he congratulated him, Mello glared at him and told him to shut up and stop shoving Near's first place in his face, Matt shutting up because he honestly didn't care all that much- and somehow, it transformed into a weird friendship-like thing. Also, some time along the way to the present, the brunet had admitted to himself that he had started caring for the blond a little. Mello wasn't the best person to talk about girls with, though. The guy was so occupied with being first, he could be described as completely asexual- except his haircut often threw people off.

Matt didn't really mind Mello's occasional temper. Whenever it came out, he'd just avoid the blond while he was savagely playing soccer with the other kids. Mostly because Gameboys were prone towards breaking when hit by soccer balls flying at fifty miles per hour.

Yeah, those were the days Matt stayed inside no matter what.

Come to think of it, he realized he hadn't left his room for going anywhere except the dining hall ever since Mello had left. He had missed out on quite a few classes- that was usually all right, though. As long as he took the weekly tests and kept his place in the third spot, it was fine.

It wasn't like he was going to stay here much longer, anyway. He had to-

The Gameboy slipped out of his fingers as realization dawned upon him.

 _Why do I have to do this anyway? I'm not his puppy, am I? I think I have the right to live my own life instead of following him around everywhere..._

Truth be told, he knew the reason he stayed with Mello. He had the motivation of a third year college student. Mello gave him a motive to stick around and not completely shut off from the world. If the blond died, then he wouldn't have a motive and he'd probably spiral into depression and be all alone and commit suicide which basically means he'd die a virgin and-

 _Knock knock!_

Matt blinked. "Come in,"

"Sup," greeted Hide as he entered.

"You are aware that it's about four-thirty in the morning, right?"

"Actually, my clock happens to be broken- so no. I just suddenly woke up and walked Near to his room, therefore I can't sleep now."

"...So you came here."

"Well, you _do_ have a Gameboy advanced,"

Matt frowned. "And what makes you think I'll let you use it?"

Hide directed his eyes to stare just behind the CPU of the brunet's computer. Matt silently gulped.

"I bet Roger would love to discover a few delightful Playboy magazines on his desk. He'd love it so much that he'd gladly confiscate your Gameboy," Hide smirked, "for, let's say, two weeks tops?"

"How the fuck do you kn- you know what? Never mind." Matt groaned, "Now what is it you want? And don't say you want the Gameboy, I know you have some ulterior motive- so spill."

The blond pouted. "Does Matty-kins doubt my innocence? What a pity!" Matt narrowed his eyes. Hide put his arms up in surrender, "Alright, okay! But seriously, I don't really have much to do and I'm getting bored. Social interaction sounded good, and I saw that your room was lit."

"Social interaction at fourty-thirty a.m. Another one of those Hide-quirks?" The brunet picked up his dropped Gameboy and started playing as Hide smirked sheepishly. "That reminds me, aren't you and Near supposed to be catching Kira?"

"Why would we be catching Kira? That's L's job,"

Straight-out lie. Of course, Matt may not be on Near's or Mello's level, but he was intelligent enough to figure it out.

"Third place, second now that Mello's gone. You can't trick me that easily," he smirked.

Hide sighed, "Worth a try," then grinned, "so, you miss Mello yet?" Matt had to suppress an eye-roll. Of course that's why he was here, to see him squirm. So far, he had the impression that under all the friendliness, Hide simply wanted to amuse himself by trolling people. Sort of like a bored genius trickster. Too bad he was in a house full of geniuses, two out of all of them who couldn't be that easily tricked and made to fidget on his whims.

A demanding taskmaster? A melancholic troll in need of entertainment? Or simply an amiable guy who was very alone, seeking friendship?

Therein lay the problem- humans weren't meant to be judged with any of those ever-changing names. Mere adjectives and common nouns couldn't place a human in their category. Humans weren't meant to have categories. Most humans were complex, no one fit in a certain category entirely. There were different sides, different shapes, different eyes, a shade lighter here, a hue darker there. Paint leaking out from the outlines. Human beings didn't have outlines. They were free to explore themselves, they were free to limit themselves. That was precisely the reason why crime happened. Criminals, psychopaths, sociopaths, _(Kira)-_ they were supposed to be less than human. Just a little less.

In Matt's opinion, they were a little more human. They didn't limit themselves to the mind of society. Of course, there were different types of criminals- willing criminals were more human than unwilling ones. They knew the consequences, but they didn't let that get in the way of doing what they wanted to do.

Kira- now, Kira was entirely different. A secret criminal. He still cared about anonymity. He was delusional. He thought he was doing in for the good of humankind (and maybe he was), but Matt thought that he was just... Bored. He was genius, that was for sure. He didn't want to limit himself, but he did. He fit into society's norms, but he was bored of them. And so when he got his power, he delusioned himself because he thought being bored wasn't a reason to break his limits. He was suppressed throughout his life, sheltered so much that his mind sought an outlet.

Killing people... the brunet didn't approve of it, to be honest. What right did humans have to kill others? What right did we have to destroy what we didn't create? How could we take away what wasn't ours?

But given the opportunity, Matt thought that he'd do the same thing Kira had done. He may not approve of killing, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it himself. He was a hypocrite, and he knew that. In truth, he was bored himself. That's why he'd do it- for the excitement. He and Kira were no different, except that he didn't lie to himself.

For now, though, he'd stick to video games and not caring.

"Yes." Direct, straight, and simple.

 _(Just like that Jeevas.)_

A sympathetic look fell over Hide's face. "I suppose I understand you. Before Wammy's," _-before I was orphaned and taken way from the only place I ever knew,_ Matt translated the other boy's words in his head, "I had a friend. Best friend, I guess you could say. And then, because of my utter selfishness," the blond smiled bitterly, "I left him. I can't say for sure, but I think perhaps Mello feels the same. He probably miss you too." And then, as if he hadn't just let his emotions take control over him, Hide grinned.

Matt returned a small, yet grateful smile. "Thanks, Hide."

And that was that. Hide left after a little while, at the end of a conversation including the cute girls in the orphanage and the newest Gameboy model.

The brunet switched off the lights and spread out on his bed, and he didn't realize that he'd liked Hide's company.

 _(He just sits there, not caring.)_

 _(What a freak, that Mail.)_

And he smiled, for he knew it was because he didn't want to realize it.

* * *

Misa Amane was happy.

That was the only word she could use to describe her mood. Simply content and satisfied with everything in her life. She had a caring, handsome lover; the power to change the world; a successful career; and she was on her way to become her God's Goddess.

What more could anyone want? Everything felt so complete.

 _(Sure, but she's an orphan without a family or best friend, isn't she?)_

Well, sometimes she does miss Rem. The female shinigami was someone who she could freely talk to. She couldn't possibly talk to Light about how adorable he himself looked when he was silently killing people with the Death Note. Or how the make-up artist she got for Nishinaka's movie was so amazing at her job, or which bathing suit would suit her best for the beach trip they were going to have this summer.

Simply because she knew Light didn't care about these trivial things, and she preferred their conversations to be a little more of what a boyfriend and girlfriend would have rather than what would go on between friends. That was just the common sense of any normal woman.

 _(She has everything yet she's so lonely)_

 _(Ungrateful little-!)_

Ryuk had never been the best company, but she did enjoy herself making bunny-shaped apple slices for the shinigami. He was more like a child than a God of Death, anyway.

"Wow, is that Misa-Misa?!" Ah, that honestly annoying nickname she was called by. Ever since her manager told her to use the Japanese-model and actress-cliches, her popularity had improved but she sure did secretly find it a little irritating. The male fan ran up to her and almost pleaded for an autograph. Of course, being the cheery, fan-pleasing model she was, she gave him one.

"Thank you! I must say, your new clothing style fits you... Very well..." He eyed her from head to toe, pausing at her bare midriff (she was wearing a crop top) and her thighs.

Misa felt sickened.

She pretended to ignore it, giggling cutely, and then walked on.

Light had called her earlier asking her to investigate a coffee shop for some reason, but she hadn't questioedn him. If Light had asked her to do it, she would never question it. Since he had requested it, it had to be something greatly important.

Entering the shop- which was named 'Anteiku', she noticed- it was definitely confirmed that it was terribly important.

It wasn't the mouth-watering aroma of coffee or the tranquility which affected her- for the first thing she noticed was that none of the servers had letters or number above their heads.

Misa smiled to conceal her slight gasp. A young girl with violet-black hair who looked to be in elementary school, or at the most, junior-high, greeted her with a warm exclamation of, "welcome to Anteiku!", before running off behind the coffee counter. Misa nodded her head at the young girl who wasn't in the server's uniform yet still had no lifespan or name above her head.

The blonde model seated herself at one of the unoccupied tables and waited for someone to attend her. Soon, a young man with golden hair and glasses approached her. "Hello ma'am, what would you like to order?" he asked.

"Just a latte, please!" she grinned.

"On its way," He was quite handsome, but not as much as Light- in Misa's opinion.

She decided to call Light and inform him about the new developments. This was sure to earn her a place in his heart... Not that there wasn't one already.

"Hey Light!" she spoke as the call was picked up. "I looked, but I can't find them anywhere. What should I do?" Of course her boyfriend would understand what she meant. He was a genius, after all.

There was a slight pause before he replied, "Act natural for now. Thank you, Misa." She waited for it... "I love you,"

"I love you too!"

Her latte was placed on the table as soon as he hung up the phone. She thanked the server who had given it to her, a young boy with black hair. After he'd turned around, she noticed that his hair looked a little... unnatural. _A wig, perhaps?_

She paid it no heed. The things kids did today to hide bad haircuts.

* * *

Ryuk was laughing behind him as he disconnected the call with Misa.

"You know something, don't you?" he said as he turned and glared at the shinigami.

"No, not this time. I've honestly never seen anything like this. Then again, I didn't pay attention to this part of the world before dropping the notebook. You're fun and all, but no offense- I was hoping it'd land in the hands of some tyrannical dictator or an infamous criminal..."

"They'd hardly last, didn't you see what happened with Higuchi? Those kind of people will get so immersed in their power that they'll be discovered and hunted down quickly."

For some reason, Ryuk chuckled as if he had caught a silent joke in that.

"For now, I need to come up with a plan. I cannot say for certain that they will be harmful towards my goals, but I'll make one up just in case they cause trouble. What's the best way to tackle killing- or perhaps just restraining- people who break the rules of death gods?"

Perhaps they don't have names or lifespans because they aren't meant to die by the Death Note. Maybe they are test-tube children, or genetic experiments- 'he who has not been born cannot die', or something along those lines? Ryuk himself said that he hadn't seen something like this before.

 _Who am I kidding?_ Light sighed as he sat on the couch in his apartment. _I can't just run on theories. I have to get close to them first. Ah, yes- that Kaneki kid. He seems safe enough to start off with. I have to earn his trust first, but I shouldn't seem as if I'm trying to hard. That's right, just take it naturally..._

In truth, he couldn't actually stop wondering about the wig-wearing boy. He seemed as if he hid so many secrets, those eyes confessed sadness, what could it possibly be? Child abuse? Torture? Neglect?

 _Well, perhaps I should win his trust and then find out who wronged him. I shall apply justice, and make him loyal towards Kira. I should probably not reveal my identity to him, though..._

 _But I may, if it helps me understand why his 'family' is so different._

Light laughed and Ryuk stared at him, confused. Hadn't he been angry a few moments before? It reminded the shinigami of the time after Light had first met L face to face. Except this time, his laugh was more like as if he was laughing at one of his friend's jokes or at a funny comic book, not a manical, villain-ish type laugh.

"Very well, Ken Kaneki, staff of Anteiku- I suppose you'll present an interesting game for me to play."

* * *

Somewhere, a group of hooded people assembled in a large room.

"Ayato's late."

"Well, he is a child. An irresponsible one at that,"

"He's not always late, and whenever he is, he brings some pretty useful information."

"Or sometimes even a new member..."

"Doesn't change the fact that he's late to the meeting where we shall discuss the _plans_ ,"

"I still do not understand how we are going to carry this out,"

"Yeah, it's a pretty stupid idea! We should wait a little more-"

Silence reigned the room as the head of the speaker flew off his neck.

"Wh-what the hell?! Aren't we supposed to keep everyone we can alive?"

"Not if they hold us back. Waiting will do us no good. We have restrained ourselves for long enough, with this Kira business going around, this'll take them completely by surprise."

"B-but what if Kira kills _us_?!"

"No ghoul has been reported to die at Kira's hands. It is safe to assume that either Kira is a ghoul-supporter, or simply can't kill ghouls."

"Can't kill ghouls? Ha! And those stupid humans believe that he's an all-powerful God!"

"Please do not forget the idea that perhaps he doesn't want to kill his own species."

"I think if he hesitates to kill us, he should kill off those fools at Anteiku!"

There was a cheer of appreciation for the comment made.

"This is no time to be discussing about Kira. Let us first accomplish our main goal here- _to establish ghoul rule over the prefecture of Tokyo!_ "

* * *

 **And the plot finally begins. This is mostly going to be character development and interaction, but I accidentally let my imagination run and thought out an entire plot. Damn it, now I'll have to stay up looking for loopholes. Oh well.**

 **This was a little shorter than the previous chapters, especially after such a long time, but I'm a detached writer- you can hate me for that. I write when I get inspiration, and when I do, I can't stop.**

 **This story will mainly focus on Light, Near, Kaneki and Hide. I simply love writing those characters, especially the first three since we barely have anything on Hide. This was also my first time writing from the perspective of Misa. I like Misa because she has an underdeveloped backstory and her personality is almost completely unaffected by it. So of course, I have to take a chance to try and create more depth in her too.**


	4. Chapter 4

**2 months later...**

It was a slow day at Anteiku, and currently there were no customers present in the shop. The few staff members present occupied themselves with cleaning or simply standing around. It was raining outside and it didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon.

Kaneki had decided to sit at a corner table reading one of his books. It was _The Judgement_ by Franz Kafka- not his favorite or most treasured, but one which he could read over and over again without complaint. The book follows Georg Bendemann and his antagonistic father. Kaneki did not remember his father, but this was one of the books he'd left behind. Georg's father had continuously verbally abused his son, calling him selfish and accusing him of wanting him dead, even though Georg had no such intentions and cared for his father. The story ultimately ends with his death- after his father sentences him to 'death by drowning', and Georg, with his mind full of his father's harsh words, plunges into a stretch of water from over a bridge.

In Kaneki's mind, he takes the role of Georg; thus making the father...

"Mrs. Fueguchi!" Touka's alarmed voice pulls him out of his reverie. He turns lifts his head from between the pages of the book and looks up to see a drenched pair of Ryoko Fueguchi and her daughter, Hinami.

He stood up and rushed to get some towels. He came back, towels in hand, and handed them over to both the mother and the daughter. The latter gives him a look of despiar and Kaneki's eyebrows shoot up in curiosity and worry.

"Hello, Mrs. Fueguchi, Hinami," he greets them.

"Nice to see you again, Kaneki,"

"Hi, big brother..." Kaneki frowns at Hinami's somber voice.

"Uh... What brings the two of you here?"

Suddenly, the mood became tense. He felt a little guilty for causing that.

"They... They took him," Mrs. Fueguchi answered, looking down. Hinami hid behind her mother.

"W-what?" Touka stuttered.

"Aogiri Tree," she spoke up, "they took my husband."

* * *

After his morning classes, Hide joined Near for lunch. As usual, the white-haired boy had been sitting alone, eating nothing and solving a blank puzzle.

"You really should eat more, you know," Hide started, "you're already so pale."

"I'm not hungry," Near answered.

"Tsk! As if I'll have any of that," The blond took the apple from his tray and placed it in front of Near. "As your friend, I shall take on the task of restoring you back to health!"

"...I'm not sick either, Hide,"

"That doesn't mean you don't need to eat. Seriously, when do you even eat?"

Near was silent for a few moments, and then spoke, "In order to collect more information, we will have to access police files. I do not plan to illegally hack into them, so I think it'd be best if we begin our detective career."

"Ohoho, now you're changing the topic. Very well, I shall excuse you since we are in the process of catching a serial killer," Hide imitated a terrible Winchester accent. Returning to his normal Japanese accent, he said, "Alright, but what do you plan on the name we're going by?" Of course, they'd be a pair of anonymous detectives. He grinned, "N? H?"

"We can think of these things later. For now, I'd appreciate it if you finish your lunch and we can get back to discussing the timelines."

"Eat the apple first." Cue intense staring contest.

Surprisingly, Near gave in and sighed, taking a bite out of the apple. Hide smiled cheerfully. "The fruit of knowledge, if I remember correctly. Who knows, it might help us obtain some ourselves!"

Soon, lunch had ended and the pair ended up in their usual investigation room, which had been provided for them, courtesy of Roger. The room was stacked with lego towers almost reaching the ceiling and a pile of dominos stashed into a corner. Besides the toys, the room also had a computer sitting on a desk which had files and papers strewn across it. Lastly, a box containing video tapes sat beside the desk.

The white-haired boy plopped onto the floor in his usual strange position, while the blond picked up a filed titled simply 'Timeline' off the desk and flipped through it. "On December 10th, Kira's pattern had a noticeable change. When he'd first become active, criminals were killed in specific times of the day, namely between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. till the middle of the night on weekends," Hide scanned the notes written beside it, "apparently, the ICPO transcript also mentioned that L deduced Kira was a student, and that was when his schedule suddenly changed into killing a criminal per hour." he joined Near on the floor, crossing his legs, "If you ask me, I'd say Kira had, and perhaps still has, access to police records. The thing is, if he was smart enough to get rid of L, why'd he change his schedule to make it even more obvious that not only was he a student, but he also had access to the police _and_ reveal that he had complete control over when the criminals die?" he frowned, "This kind of makes him seem like he just wanted to play a game by challenging L... It only supports the idea that Kira was not fully pure in his intentions. He was taunting L."

"Exactly what I thought. He's a human using the power of a God. Please skip to the incident with the FBI agents."

"Right. Twelve FBI agents arrived in Japan on December 14th to investigate members of the police. They were all killed by Kira on the 27th." _Did he fear discovery or did he simply want the police to lose their trust in L to put him in a tight position?_ "Why do I get the feeling that we're missing something important here...?"

"Because we are." Near walked up to the desk, pulling a chair to sit on and brought up a Japanese news website. After a few clicks, Hide saw that it had the headlines of criminal deaths taking place on December 19th at 6 p.m. There were six criminal deaths on the list, all deaths by heart failure. "This. I compared the news reports with the prison's information, and I found the deaths of three specific people to be quite different from the rest of Kira's victims." He then pulled up a downloaded file.

 _6 p.m., 12/19/2003_

 _Masaaki Shirami cut off his own finger and used the blood to draw a pentagram inside a circle on the wall of his cell, dying of heart failure afterwards._

 _Ken Yadanaka writes a strange 'suicide note' before dying of a heart attack._

 _Tasayoshi Yoda manages to escape from prison, finds a local public washroom and dies of a heart attack right there._

"The rest of the three died as usual. But as you have seen, the media reported all of them to die of an ordinary heart failure. This means the police had covered up the abnormalities in their deaths, presumably because of L's orders. Which means that he had deduced the fact that-"

"Kira had used these people as experiments," Hide breathed.

"Precisely,"

"And it also means that Kira had discovered the FBI was involved somewhere between the 14th and the 19th! That makes Kira one of the people being investigated in those four days. We can now narrow down the suspects and correspond them with who'd be able to imitate L so perfectly. I'm sure the person with that capability would stand out."

Near gave him a somewhat creepy smile. "I see I wasn't wrong in asking for your help. But please do not take my lead as a fact- there's still a 7% chance of it not being true, we wouldn't want to bias ourselves, would we?"

Hide snorted. "As if we don't have enough proof already,"

He could've sworn he saw Near rolling his eyes.

* * *

"Light, can we play Mario Kart now? I'm so boooored," whined a raspy voice.

"Not now, Ryuk. I gotta catch up on all this college work," Light groaned, staring at the pile of work he had to do. Of course, he was planning on finishing college. "so go entertain yourself by reading manga or something."

"I already read every one you have! You have to buy me some new ones... along with more apples too,"

The brunet let his forehead hit the table. Pretending to be L, keeping up his perfect student persona, fooling the taskforce, doing college work, handling Misa and Ryuk was starting to take a toll of stress on him. And then there was Kaneki and his shop full of enigmas. Just thinking about all his problems made him even more demotivated.

He sighed, raising his head up. He knew this was very unlike him. No matter the stress or workload, he had somehow always managed to break through- not only satisfying expectations but _exceeding_ them.

Oh, and his hair was starting to fall out more. Perhaps he could use that excuse to motivate himself to get rid of all this stress as soon as possible. _Maybe I should visit a counselor..._ he thought, smirking afterwards. _Nah._

"Go watch some TV downstairs with Sayu then. I'm busy," Fortunately for Light, the shingami left with a grunt.

"I don't want to! All your sister watches are those mind-numbingly stupid TV dramas... And I think they're ruining my brain because I can't help but wonder if Tsukushi would dare pick Tsukasa over Rui,"

"Idiot. I think it's obvious a girl like her would go for Tsukasa, the arrogant bad boy. Rui would probably end up having to admire her from afar."

"...Wait, even a guy like you watches girly TV dramas-"

"Like I ever have a choice! You've seen how Sayu hogs the TV at dinner! Now let me finish this work,"

"Okay, fine,"

Thankfully for the college student, Ryuk finally left his room.

Light groaned for the millionth time, stretched, sighed and resumed his work.

Usually, when people try to concentrate on a certain task, their mind often drifts into meaningless thoughts. Light had never sufferred from the curse of being easily distracted, but somehow a single thought managed to slip into his mind.

 _Why was a 13 year-old so... ripped?_

* * *

 **One month later...**

"...And so, I think that the thefts were just cover-ups for the disappearances. Although they're widely spread apart, the reports all have a common victim type, which is young adults around the age of twenty, and it's pretty much clear that if the thieves were actually going for the money, they would've entered the house when the lone resident wasn't present. It's obvious now that this wasn't just a couple of thefts which took coincidentally took place after the victims disappeared- the reason why the police didn't catch on is because all of them took place at seemingly random locations spread out over the country. They only began getting suspicious at least a year after when these disappearances began happening more often. It's highly likely that the group committing these crimes realized this and immediately stopped."

Hide paused.

"What's the matter? Continue, please," said Near.

"Why are you investigating a case like this? I think the police will be able to gather sufficient data on their own to capture the culprits,"

The white-haired boy placed another block on the tower. He mentally noted that the stability on the fifth floor was getting worse. If he added just three more blocks, the entire thirty-story building block tower would collapse. He started a new column of blocks just beside the tower to support it.

"What do you think the motive of these criminals is, Hide?" started Near, "No- what do you think the police would think the motive of these criminals is?"

"The people are being kidnapped for drug or prostitution rings, or if we hit a block in both, maybe even for illegal experimentation."

"Exactly. But think about it, the victims are not situated in a single area, and usually for all those options just a handful of people would be enough, unless the experiment requires more than that- in which case, the victims' locations would be at least a little more concentrated. But no, there's only one victim from each city. That, and in cases of kidnapping, the victim is usually abducted outdoors, not inside their houses. So why?"

"Maybe it really is for illegal experimentation... If it is, then it must be a truly horrible experiment,"

"That's the thing, it just can't be for that reason..."

"Why not?"

"I just have a feeling it isn't. Is suppose we can confirm it later,"

"Is it because every victim was too unsuitable for most kinds of experimentation?"

Near made locked his eyes onto Hide's and spoke, "Why must you always go the extra length and access prohibited files without permission?"

"You do realize that you just admitted doing the very same thing by revealing that my discovery was recorded in those prohibited files?"

The white-haired boy let out a sigh and turned back to his building blocks. Hide... Something had changed in him within the past two months. _Is our friendship improving? Is he just becoming more open with me? He doesn't have nightmares anymore either... As a friend, I suppose I should be happy about that, but something is just wrong here._

"Near? You listening?"

The boy blinked out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said?"

"Haha! Gotcha! Didn't say anything. Just noticed that you changed the pattern of your blocks,"

"Really now,"

"Yep! You always go white, yellow, yellow, orange, red and then use blue for breaking the sequence- it's similar to the Fibonacci sequence, except you "add" colors instead of numbers, even thought it doesn't work that way..."

"I'm trying to find a way to fit in the green blocks, I do not want to waste them,"

"Why not try repeating the sequence vertically up the building as well, and when you run into a gap, use green?"

"...Good idea, thanks, Hide."

 _Hee-dey._

The blond's eyes widened in shock, before he regained his bearings.

Only the walls and floor of the room basked in the afternoon sunlight saw the secret smiles which both boys refused to share with each other.

* * *

God, how did he land himself in this situation?

"Mello... I'm sorry, but did you really think things would go according to how you thought they would?"

The blond orphan coughed and spat out blood.

" _Fucking traitor...!_ I thought you were my friend, damn it!"

"I... I wanted to be friends with you too!" The eleven-year old kid standing opposite to him had started tearing up, his voice almost becoming hysterical, "But..." he wiped his tears away,

" **Only the strong survive in this world.** "

There was a deafening silence. Mello coughed up more blood, and glared at Ayato.

"Don't you try to be all fucking cool, _kid._ I haven't given up just yet,"

The blue-haired boy turned his back on the older boy, and in a trembling voice, he whispered: "Please _... Please survive and get out of here!_ "

Mello grinned as _Ayan Kougar_ left the room... And another man entered. Mello shifted his eyes to look around the room. He didn't want to see _that._

 _These people are not human._

"Boss, I am here, trying to carry on your work! Please come back to me, Boss!" wailed the platinum blond man eith huge bags over his eyes. He was holding the pliers.

Mello had been tied to a chair for the past three days. For the first two, he was left to starve with a single glass of water each day (he only had a rough idea of the time that had passed as Ayato was kind enough to inform him). Earlier today, he had been stabbed through his stomach with his torturer's... _extra limb_ and was still coughing up blood even after his _friend_ did a somewhat decent job of disinfecting and stitching him up according to his instructions. Without any anaesthesia, of course.

Lucky for him, the wound hadn't been fatal and missed his vital organs by _just enough_ distance to recover. The first thing Mello would do once it got out of this damn room was get some proper medical treatment, because relying on an eleven-year old kid was too much. Even though him being alive did somewhat prove Ayato had done a good enough job, his wound was still hurting like hell.

After that, Ayato had convinced _Naki_ to keep him alive for as long as possible, since Naki's boss, from whom he gains oh-so much inspiration from, liked to do the same. Apparently, at first he was going to get his fingers and toes cut off, but once again, his _savior_ advised Naki against it.

It seemed that after being physically tortured, Mello had developed a dry sense of humor as a coping method.

Hm, if he remembered correctly, Matt had a rather dry sense of humor too.

Thank God he had been blessed with endurance.

* * *

"Hm? You need something, kid?"

"Yes, in fact, I do."

"H-hey, Banjou, this kid's from Aogiri... Don't you see the insignia?!"

"Relax, Ichimi. What could a kid like him do?"

No one saw Ayato's leg move. But it did.

Luckily, it stopped right before it hit Banjou's face.

"That kick could've knocked your head off, Banjou! I'm telling you, even the kids from Aogiri are-"

Ayato shot a glare at the gas-mask ghoul.

"I need your help."

"That's a... Unique way to ask for help,"

"Are you and your 11th Ward pussies willing to lend me a hand, or should I just kill you all right here?"

"It was nice negotiating with you, so what exactly is it that you need help with?"

"Ichimi! Do not be such a weakling!"

"I don't wanna die, Banjou..."

"Hah... Anyway, how can we assist you?"

* * *

 **Unfortunately, that's all for this filler, pathetic excuse for a chapter which I completed after almost one year of an update, and it's less than half the length of regular chapters...**

 **I'm sorry, life is being a bitch and things aren't too stable at home. I really do wish I could be more determined and have better willpower as an author, even if writing is just a hobby- since now you guys are here, enjoying something I've written.**

 **I'm just really tired. I'll work harder for the next chapter. Please excuse any grammatical/spelling errors and feel free to inform me of them, since I'm trying to improve my proof-reading abilities but I always seem to miss stuff and I still have to update small errors every now and then for chapters I posted months ago.**

 **See you guys next time, and thank you for those who reviewed and those who gave this fic a chance even after seeing how long it hadn't been updated for.**

 **P.S. Please try to ignore the fact that I used a fucking Boys Over Flowers reference. I couldn't help myself.**


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